Run This Town
by Harvest Dragon
Summary: As the novice rancher Chelsea moves under strange circumstances to rusty Sunshine Town, she's almost immediately given the responsibility to revive a goddess. Not to mention she has to babysit said goddess's sprites and keep a full-sized ranch running. Someone's got their work cut out for them, and that's not including the outlaws. AU
1. Sundown Town?

Chapter One

_Sundown Town…?_

_AN: This will be my very first fan fiction, and criticism is welcome! It'll be a Harvest Moon Island of Happiness/Sunshine Islands AU…so without further babbling, please read on._

_**Edit: I'm revamping this whole fic, so it'll be different in a few (read: lot) ways. Particularly in my writing style. I've tried sticking to my old way of writing, but it's not enough to quench my OCD tendancies...**_

_HarvestDragon_

* * *

A tired horse's metal-clad hooves pounded rhythmically against a dusty road worn with the overpowering stench of lonesome travelers. As the relentless sun beat upon the red bandanna-clad head of a small feminine figure, who was perched awkwardly upon the brown saddle of the steed, the girl let out a frustrated sigh. She was dressed in a pair of worn, dusty blue jeans and a red, collared shirt that had been buttoned except for the last two, leaving the shirt partially opened in a roguish way.

She had red cowgirl boots with orange designs swirled onto them, and equipped on the boots was a set of old spurs that she kicked into the horse's sides on occasion, making sure the message for exra speed was sent quite clearly in as harsh a manner as possible. With an irate neigh, the dark brown horse tossed its head and stopped to paw the ground violently in protest, and its rider responded with an obviously irritated click.

"Almost there…we're almost there!" she spat with a quite obviously frustrated tone. "I've been traveling for three whole days, and we are gonna get to that daggone town, if I have _any_ say in it! And guess what little pony…? I _do_ have every say in what we do. So move it!"

With somethin akin to a glare, the horse snorted and started trotting again at a brisk pace towards the ever-distant horizon. The girl chewed the inside of her cheek before exhaling loudly, and rubbing her temples with one hand in self-deliberation.

"It'll probably be only a couple more hours at most…" she muttered, sounding quite contemplative, and tightened the reins with a half-grunt of defeat. "It won't hurt to stop for a few minutes, I guess"

With a satisfied neigh the horse immediately plopped down onto its belly, jostling the girl right out of the worn saddle with a yelp. "Gah! Stupid horse…!" She growled as she dusted herself off, shooting daggers at the beast with her eyes.

The horse seemed to laugh at her before settling its head on its forelegs and closing its dark eyes, leaving the girl with her own swirling thoughts as the sun beat a steady and spicy rhythm on their heads.

_Finally, my dream has come true._

_I'm finally on an adventure of my own will..._

_And the best part is... I've never ran a ranch by myself before..._

…_Chelsea Moon, you are an **idiot**…_

The horse brayed in its sleep, as if it was somehow telephatically agreeing with the girl's thoughts, effectively breaking Chelsea out of her reverie. "Eh…better get going if we don't wanna share the road with them coyotes. Even though I feel pretty tranquil out here..." she sighed rather peacefully, a content smile spreading slowly across her face.

A strong gust of wind blew quite the mound of dirt into her eyes, and with a frustrated yelp she stood up at once, waking up the horse in the process. "We're getting to town now...!" Chelsea growled, rubbing viciously at her eyes, "Stupid dirt…!"

With a head shake filled with animalistic hopelessness, the horse stood to its feet reluctantly, allowing Chelsea to hop on with a grunt. "Giddy up."

Neighing loudly, the horse reared up dramtically, and with a kick of her spurs the girl and horse galloped into the early light of a new dawn, of both the young day and her life.

* * *

"Elliot! Elliot, where are you?"

A short old man with a rugged brown staff and snow white hair was impatiently tapping his foot on the dry dirt, his dark blue overalls marked with dirt. His time-worn face was crinkled in utter annoyance. "We have a new _town member_ coming, you _sluggard_!"

"Of course Elliot would be late…" a girl with curiously pink hair and a decidedly tomboyish look to her face huffed, rolling her eyes. She was dressed in a homely green country dress with more ruffles than could be feasibly counted, and looked none too pleased about it. "Sometimes I wonder _who_ exactly got the male genetics out of the two of us…"

They both stood outside a dingy house that was made from wood that looked as if it had seen much better days, and the duo were currently awaiting the arrival of a late party member, abeit a bit impatiently.

"Natalie! Watch your mouth!" the old man scolded harshly, and she sighed with a toss of her short hair.

"Gramps, you were just insulting him yourself…" Natalie pointed out, crossing her arms with a smug half-smirk. The old man faltered for just a second before grinning quite widely again.

"I'm your superior. I can do whatever I wish because…_I'M GOING OFF SUBJECT_!" he realized, stomping his left foot. "ELLIOT!" He bellowed loudly.

"I-I-I'm here, G-G-Grandpa…!"

A boy, with pink hair nearly identical to the girl's and silver wire-round glasses, stammered fearfully, fidgeting with the white tie he had on as he came out of the pitiful house in front of them. He had a dark blue suit with white cuffs, and dark brown leather chaps tucked into plain brown boots."I…couldn't seem to pick which tie went better with my blue s-s-suit, so…"

"You honestly spent that much time over a blazin' tie?" Natalie interrupted, her brown eyes narrowing. Elliot flinched. "What kind of man ARE you…? The girliest of girly men! The epitome of feminine! By bandits' beards…!"

"Don't talk to me like that! I'm your older brother!" he replied, his brows crinkling in anger. Natalie sneered in quite an unpleasant manner for a lady.

"You mean 'older sister…?'" she taunted, quirking a provocative eyebrow. "I'm sorry, Ellis…"

"That's just…!" Elliot began to reply when the old man forcefully banged his stick against the ground, and the two youngsters swore they felt the ground shake with his formidable fury.

"_ENOUGH_!" he yelled, glaring at the sullen siblings with a vein ticking on his bald head. "Must I repeat that we have the new _rancher_ coming to our town?!"

"Potential rancher?" the two said simultaneously, and then glared at one another for a moment.

"I thought you said _town member_!" Natalie said loudly, hands on her hips.

"Well, they will be part of the town," he replied with a sly grin. "And perhaps they'll even rejuvenate this old broken rundown mess we're forced to call home...!"

"Isn't that a little harsh…?" Elliot muttered with a small smile, adjusting his glasses idly.

"If they're gonna turn _this_ old collection of Western shacks around…I bet they'll be quite a man…" Natalie then lapsed into the bliss of her imagination, marvelling at a tall, tan cowboy with a black steed and a rough smile, holding out his calloused hand towards her as he tipped his Stetson hat-

"Natalie…?" her brother inquired, snapping her out of her surprisingly girly fantasies.

"Darn you Elliot…! You ruin _everything_!" Natalie roared as her dream cowboy disappeared and a confused Elliot filled her view instead. "_Ugggh_!"

"Wh-whoa! Watch it; this is my favorite suit…!" he exclaimed as he dodged Natalie's lunge. "Natalie…!" He protested as she lunged again.

The old man sighed, mopping his face with a red bandanna tied around his scrawny neck. "You kids haven't changed…you both have the same personalities you had when you just were five…"

His eyes sparked as he seemed to remember something. "That reminds me…where's Felicia…?"

"Oh! She said she was going to wait by the front of the town entrance for the rancher…" Elliot was silenced by a swift and powerful punch to the mid-section. "Ouch!"

"Wait, huh…?" the old man said thoughtfully, ignoring the one-sided fight, and chuckled. "Always a step ahead, eh Felicia…?" He said in fatherly admiration. "That's my girl."

With a wave of his coarse walking stick he gestured to the quarreling duo pointedly. "Well, let's go then, kids." He called, and the two looked at him for a moment before responding accordingly.

Pushing Elliot to the side, Natalie followed after him, with a ruffled Elliot trailing behind. "I hope this new guy's nicer than my sister, at least…" he groaned, rubbing his throbbing stomach.

* * *

"Daggone, I'm so thirsty…" Chelsea groaned, her tongue lolling out of her mouth like a dehydrated dog's. It was nearing midday now, and the sun's mericiless intensity had seemed to be rising every minute. "Ugh…"

The horse brayed in agreement, its head dipping up and down in an exhausted manner. The bright star had shown them its full fury, and Chelsea's cheeks were sunburnt a splotchy red. She looked up wearily, and to her sudden excitement, saw a shape on the horizon that highly resembled a cluster of small buildings.

"There it is, horse!" Chelsea tugged violently on the reins, forcing the horse's head up with a jerk. "Let's go, quickly now you dumb beast! YAH!"

Digging her spurs into the horse's sides, the horse reared up with a semi-protestant neigh, and started to sprint hard, its hooves creaming the dirt below. Chelsea laughed in exuberance, her wild brown hair whipping about her as the wind whistled by them. "Ha ha ha! That's more like it…!"

The horse seemed to grin before picking up the pace, leaving a cloud of dirt in their frenzied quest for the town.

* * *

"Oh, I just can't seem to calm myself…" a pink-haired woman, her face lovely and brushed lightly with the faint wrinkles of time, hummed while adjusting her white and pink frilly bonnet. "Oh, what should I say…? Hm…" she wore a lovely white and pink country dress that was somehow even more frilly than her bonnet, and white boots laced with pink ribbon adorned her feet.

She wrung her hands nervously as she put a decidely delicate hand to her face. "Calm, Felicia, calm…yes. Much better…now, I'll just introduce myself and then…"

"YAH! YAH!"

"Wh-what…?" Felicia gasped as the ground itself seemed to rumble. "E-earthquake…?" she looked up to see a dark horse charging directly towards her, and her eyes opened wide. "AH!" She screamed aloud like a true damsel in distress.

"Whoa…!" Chelsea saw Felicia paralyzed in the pathway of iminate destruction, and tugged her reins sharply to the left so that the horse veered away, just barely missing Felicia. "Geez, you're such a stupid horse! Almost killing such a fragile lady…!" She chided harshly.

The horse snorted, tossing its head at her curtly.

"Uh, um, ma'am…?" Felicia managed to blurt out. Chelsea turned to her, a menacing shadow crosing over her face.

"Eh…?" she said, her lip curling in a threatening manner. "Who are_ you_?"

"Ah, my name is...Felicia…!" she replied quickly, brushing off her white and pink country dress. "I assume you're…the new rancher…?"

"Rancher? Well, that's what I signed up for." She replied. "…Hey. Do you have a bar around here or something…?" Chelsea asked a bit bluntly. Felicia blanched as they stared into each other's eyes for a long and awkward moment.

"…What?" she finally asked in disbelief.

"Bar. Do you. Have. One?" Chelsea repeated much more slowly. "I need a good drink!"

"Um, yes, we have a diner bar…" Felicia replied rather tentatively. Chelsea brightened considerably at this. "But don't you want to meet everyone…?" The delicate woman asked almost inaudibly.

"Ah! Right, right! I'll do that now!" Chelsea exclaimed, evidently hearing her, and kicked her horse in the sides. "Let's go, you stupid horse!"

"H-hold on a sec…" Felicia weakly trailed off as the energetic girl galloped away on her reluctant steed, accosting Felicia with flyaway dust. "…Ah."

"Mom…! Sorry we're late!" Natalie panted, her skirts collected in rough bunches held in her hands, as she slowed her brisk pace to stand by her mother's side. "Hey, Mom...you alright…?"

"Has…the rancher…come yet…?" Elliot gasped as the old man shook his head at them disappointedly, evidently unaffected by the run. As the words left his mouth, a loud shout turned all of their heads.

"Wrong way…!" Chelsea said with an embarrassed laugh, and stopped her steed as she spotted Elliot and Natalie. "Oh, more residents? Howdy y'all." She greeted with a grin.

"Uh…" Elliot seemed star-struck as he gazed at the pretty brunette, her sky-blue eyes assessing him with curiosity, then rather obvious puzzlement as Elliot failed to respond.

"Erm…you okay…?" Chelsea asked hesitantly, as Elliot seemed frozen to the spot. He desperately tried to find his voice, but, unfortunately, his sister decided stepped in for him.

"Don't mind the idiot…" Natalie dismissed him, effectively snapping him out of his sudden case of muteness. "The name's Natalie…and to be honest, I was not expecting a _chick_." She said the last word like an uncureable disease.

"Ehehehe…sorry to disappoint you," Chelsea chuckled a bit nervously under Natalie's cold chocolate stare. Natalie sighed, crossing her arms in acceptance.

"It's cool. And your name…?" she asked. Chelsea grinned wildly.

"Chelsea Moon, fresh out of the coop!" she replied with vigor. Natalie arched an eyebrow.

"Fresh out of the…coop…?" Natalie repeated, not familiar with the terminology, and then shook her head in dismissal. "Anyways…the idiot's name is Ellis."

"R-really?" Chelsea turned to look at him. "Pleasure to meet you…um, Ms. Ellis…?"

"My name isn't Ellis!" he snapped at Natalie, who was laughing like a coyote, clutching her sides. Blushing, he turned to a lost-looking Chelsea. "It's Elliot…_Mr_. Elliot…" he said to Chelsea rather bashfully, and her cheeks turned a sunset pink at this.

"I-I'm sorry!" she apologized, jumping off her horse. "I…I honestly didn't mean to…!" Natalie's howling laughter only served to make her feel worse.

"It's fine, um, Ms. Chelsea…?" he said, shuffling his feet and gluing his eyes to the dirt pointedly.

"Chelsea's fine!" she said with a bright grin, and he looked up, only to blush even harder and look down again. "Um...uh..." he grappled for words.

"Welcome to Sunshine Town...!" the old man intercepted the one-sided conversation, quite possibly saving Elliot from dying of embarrassment. "It's a pleasure to meet ya. The name's Taro." He stuck out a hand, and she grabbed it firmly and shook it hard.

"Pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Taro," Chelsea replied. "And I must say, this bar you have sounds pretty nifty!" She added with vigor.

"...What?" Taro blanched. "Bar...?"

"Yeah! Ms. Fleece said you had one!" Chelsea pointed at Felicia with a bob of affirmity.

"F-Felicia..." she managed to finally speak. "And it's more of a diner than it is a..."

"So where's the ranch?" Chelsea asked with her hands on her hips. Felicia blinked at the sudden topic change. "Erm..."

"Don't worry, Felicia, I got it," Taro said and gestured to Chelsea. "Come along."

"Okay. See ya'll later!" She called to the pink-haired trio as they watched her, Taro and her horse walk away, words nimbly escaping them. When they could no longer see the duo, Felicia was the first to speak in a quavering voice.

"Well, she's...different..." she commented with a shaky smile. Natalie huffed, crossing her arms with annoyance.

"I'm gonna change." And with a manly grunt she hiked up her frilly dress once more and stomped away. Elliot blinked, as if to clear away the haze of dumbfounded awe that had settled over him, and fidgetted with his glasses nervously.

"She...she's nice..." he stammered, his ears as red as a ripe tomato. He pushed his glasses up his nose with a finger and smiled at his mother. "I'll go tell Julia and Mirabelle...I'm sure they'll be excited!" and with that the shy boy was gone.

Felicia gazed after him for a moment and then smiled fondly.

"Well. I guess life will change quite a bit from here on out," she commented to herself. "Not like we don't need change. Well, better get back to work, Felicia...or Fleece," she joked with a dry chuckle.

And with a swish of her pretty skirts she turned around and headed for home, the sun's rays beaming down on old dusty Sunshine Town like a beacon.

* * *

_AN: And that's Chapter One. Just to let you know, Chelsea will NOT be a Mary Sue (ha-ha, nowhere NEAR it), and pairings are possible, but not absolute. In case you didn't realize, this is a Western AU, so I'm gonna have LOTS of fun with this...hehehe. Expect to see many characters, all from IoH and SI...and most of all, don't feel pressured to review. _

**_You're awesome if you do review though._**

_Ciao, HarvestDragon_


	2. Milk Days

Chapter Two

_Milk Days_

* * *

"Um."

"So...?" Taro urged. Chelsea blinked at the sorry excuse for a house in front of her, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. Its red roof had rusty shingles falling off of it, and the very walls of the house were rotted and seemed liable to break under the strain of holding itself up. The field beyond it was littered with weeds, bottles and tree stumps, and the buildings behind the field were in even worse condition than the "house."

"It's not...well, that is to say...it kinda is..." she stuttered, trying to come up with a good response.

"A dump? Indeed." Taro finished for her. "Your own personal dump...er, home."

Chelsea gawked at the old man, and he returned her look with an incredulous stare. "What were you expecting?" He asked. "A hotel suite?"

She blinked and shook her head in disbelief. "Not this..." she admitted. "This is a nightmare in the flesh..."

Taro chuckled. "Consider this your first adventure...brave the insides of the place." He patted her on the shoulder rather sympathetically. "I'll leave ya to explore for an hour or so, and then I'll come back for your carcass- I mean you." And with that he was off, humming a happy tune as he went. Chelsea looked back at the horse, who looked extremely bored as he made eye-contact with her. "Well, stupid horse, let's see if we can find you a stable." She only received an exasperated bray for a response.

Tugging on the reins clippedly, she guided her horse into a yellow-roofed building in such horrifying condition that she felt something akin to guilt leaving the horse in there. "Well...this is your new home...I guess...since that boy who gave ya to me has no way of getting you back..."

The horse sighed into her face and brayed again, its too-intelligent eyes scrutinizing its surroundings. With a soft neigh it settled down on the rotting hay and closed its eyes, drifting off to sleep. Chelsea watched the animal for a few moments before clicking her tongue. "Stupid horse..." she muttered.

She walked out of the stable and looked around with a gleam in her eyes.. "Well...I'll have fun turning this place into a utopia!" she said cheerily, pumping her fist. "Yeah, I'm excited already! It might look bad...no, terrible...no, decrepit...who am I kidding, I suck at pep talks..." she sighed with a comical pout. "What a mess I'm in...literally."

Chelsea poked around in an old blue-roofed barn, and then looked inside a green-roofed coop. After examining the overgrown field with a wary eye, she decided she would venture within the house. She opened the old door with a creak, only to find the inside surprisingly well-preserved. "That old man mislead me!" she muttered under her breath. "It's better than any other building on this ranch..." she added despondently.

With a sigh, Chelsea plopped on the bed and stared up at the rotted ceiling. She smiled a little as she closed her eyes, feeling content, and let her recent memories wash over her pleasantly.

"_Hey, lady! What're ya wandering around here for?" _

_Chelsea had been looking all around the dusty town she had been dropped off at for a mount, but with no success whatsoever. In fact, she'd hardly spotted anybody in this rather despondent place. She turned at the sound of a young voice to see a little boy with black hair and a gray bandanna around his head behind her looking up at her as he waited for a response._

"_I'm looking for a horse," she admitted, and the child brightened._

"_Oh! I have a horse! You can have him! We can't take care of him anyhow," the child said sadly, his mood suddenly melancholy. Then he brightened again. "I'll be back!" and the kid was gone. Chelsea quirked an eyebrow and scuffed her red cowboy boots on the dusty ground. After a few minutes she was starting to wonder if the boy had duped her, when a neigh broke her from her thoughts. A dark brown horse charged towards her, and she yelped as the horse stopped right in front of her with a snort. On top of the steed sat the little boy, a grin on his face._

"_He's the bestest horse in the entire West!" he bragged as he clambered down the side of the beast. "So take care of him, 'kay lady?" he added seriously._

_Chelsea bent down to ruffle the boy's hair with a small smile. "I promise."_

A knock on the door yanked her from her reverie, and Taro stepped in candidly. "Howdy." He greeted her with a smile.

"Hey." She greeted back, lifting a hand. Taro grinned and crooked a bony finger at her. She lifted a brow, but rose from the semi-comfortable bed to follow him. As she stepped outside, she was greeted with the sight of a black calf with a tiny chick riding on its head. At the sight of the girl the calf bellowed, ruffling the chick comically.

"They're yours, courtesy of Mirabelle." Taro explained. "You'll meet her soon enough. For now, how about you give these kids names?"

Chelsea gazed at the calf, who was now chewing its cud rapidly. "Pepper...and the chick..." she glanced at the tiny bird, who was now preening its feathers in a disgruntled manner, "...Yellow."

"Wonderful! I've dropped off enough food for all your animals that'll last about a month," he continued, stroking his chin. "So, I'll introduce you to the residents now, I guess..." he decided

Chelsea perked. "Sweet! Then you'll teach me how to ranch, right?" She pressed.

Taro nodded. "Yep, yep...but what do you say we go meet the rest of the residents now? They've been looking forward to your arrival!" He winked.

"Alright," Chelsea agreed eventually, and led her new charges to their homes before walking back over to Taro. "Ready when you are, old ma- I mean Taro."

"Let's stop by the Animal Shop first..." Taro decided with a nod, eveidently missig her slip up, and the duo were off.

* * *

"Julia, can you fetch some more fodder from the back?" Behind a well-kept counter a plump, blond, middle-aged woman in a dark blue country dress called out to someone. A beautiful blond woman with long blond hair and lovely dark blue eyes scampered out of a room. She was in well-worn jeans and a loose fitting blue shirt, both covered in dirt, and she ran a hand through her frazzled hair.

"Just a minute Mom: Taro said the rancher would be swinging around here about now...I want to change..." Julia replied, dusting herself off a bit. "Be back!" She assured her mother.

As the pretty girl disappeared into her room, the lady sighed. "I wonder where _he_ is, anyway...the man's usually here by now..."

A knock at the door made her jump a little. "Come in." She called loudly.

"Mirabelle, I'd like for you to meet someone..." Taro said as he opened the door, revealing a slightly uneasy Chelsea. Mirabelle brightened and gestured to them, signaling them to come in.

"Come in, then! I have a daughter...and she'll be out in a moment," Mirabelle explained, and walked towards them. "The name's Mirabelle! My daughter and I run this shop...and...my hired hand helps us a lot with the animals and such...decided to skip his duties today, I guess..." she blew out a huff of air. "Sheesh."

"Um, I'm sorry to hear that..." Chelsea said apologetically. "My name's Chelsea, by the way. Chelsea Moon." Chelsea said, sticking out her hand. Mirabelle shook it with a smile.

"You're quite the cutie...!" Mirabelle commented with a coo. Chelsea blanched at this.

"Cute? Ha-ha...I don't think so..." Chelsea protested with a nervous laugh. At that moment Julia came out, her flaxen hair down in all its golden glory, her simple blue country dress accenting her eyes. A matching bonnet was tied around her head, and her blue boots completed her look.

"Hello, you must be the new rancher..." Julia said sweetly. "I'm Mirabelle's daughter, Julia."

Chelsea bobbed her head robotically. "Yeah, my name's Chelsea. It's nice to meet ya'll." She grinned suddenly, and crossed her arms. "You've got a nice town you know."

Julia smiled. _She's tomboyish...but pretty cute anyways..._ she thought, surveying her rancher girl getup._ Anyways, I wonder where that cowboy is now...he's gonna miss meeting the rancher!_

"Well, can we go to that bar now?" Chelsea asked, breaking Julia from her thoughts and shocking both her and Mirabelle. Taro laughed as the two looked at Chelsea in utter bewilderment.

"Well, since you're so eager, that'll be our next stop!" Taro agreed, and the two headed for the door immediately.

"I'll definitely be back here a lot!" Chelsea said over her shoulder with a grin. "See you guys later..."

As the door closed behind her, Julia and Mirabelle stared at each other in disbelief.

"She doesn't look...like a...drinker..." Mirabelle began weakly, her face comically pale.

"I'm going to follow her," Julia decided, gathering up her dress and heading for the door. "And if I see that _cowboy_ I'll send him packing this way…" she said, her tone that of a deadly promise.

"Alright, then..." Mirabelle replied, and Julia took her leave. "What an interesting girl...Chelsea Moon, eh?" She mused. "She's rather strange...yet kind of cute."

* * *

"The people here are pretty nice, old ma...I mean, Mr. Taro!" Chelsea commented. "Are there people around my age besides your grandkids and Julia?"

"There should be a decent amount of people your age where we're heading," Taro replied, wiping his nose on his glove. They passed decrepit houses and other stores before stopping in front of an orange-roofed building that looked younger than the buildings around it.

"Well, here it is..." Taro trailed off as Chelsea rushed in. "...never mind...guess I'll wait out here for her..." he decided, propping himself upon his walking stick.

"Howdy, folks!" Chelsea greeted as she burst into the diner loudly, and as heads turned towards her, she zipped up to the counter. "Excuse me, sir! I request…a drink."

"Hm?" The bartender looked up from his glass cleaning to fix her with an amused look. "Well, what'll it be, ma'am?" He asked, trying not to laugh. No way would a lady order beer.

Chelsea leaned forward, her eyes narrowed in complete seriousness as she whispered one word into his face.

"Milk."

"…Milk?" The bartender repeated, blanching. He hadn't expected that either.

"Milk…" she replied with a smirk. The bartender shrugged with a chuckle, and poured her a small glass of milk, pushing it towards her as she grinned.

"Enjoy, ma'am…" he winked and went back to cleaning cups. Chelsea nodded thankfully and took a swing of the cool drink. "Ah, good stuff for a hot day..."

"So you're the new rancher?" An unfamiliar male's voice made her turn, and behind her stood a black, white and purple clad man with a purple bandanna and a black bird on his shoulder. His boots were black and his white chaps were tucked into them. He had a button-up white top that was completely unbuttoned, revealing a purple vest underneath.

"Nice to meet ya! The name's Denny! And this is my buddy Poppers!" the bird cawed at her. Chelsea stuck out her quite petite hand with a grin.

"Chelsea Moon, at your service," she replied cheerily, and he grasped his hand around hers and shook it firmly. "Nice to meet you Dennis!"

"Um…it's Denny," he corrected, and she paled at yet another one of her blunders.

"Sorry…I'm terrible with names…" she stated with a sigh. Denny laughed heartily.

"Hahaha…you're kind of different, you know!" he stated, and then grinned impishly. "Pretty cute, if you ask me…" he added with a slightly flirtatious smirk.

"I'm not cute…!" she retorted quite vehemently and turned away to take a swig of her milk. "Jerk." She muttered.

"What…? Most people would take that as a compliment…" Denny muttered to himself, and then shrugged with a smile. "Well, then…Ms. Moon…" he continued as he prepared to take a seat by her.

"Denny!" a pull on his ear cut off his next statement. "If you forgot already, let me remind you that we kinda were EATING TOGETHER!"

A pretty girl with hazel eyes and blond hair pulled his ear again harshly, her fancy green dress billowing with her rage. "You don't just walk out on your date like that!" She nearly screeched, and he cowered under her grip.

Chelsea flinched as the girl turned her burning gaze on her. "Sorry, um, Ms…um…"

"It's Lanna." The woman crossed her arms, releasing Denny from her ear grip. "And you are…?" She asked snippedly, her brow raised in scronful expectation.

"Chelsea Moon!" she replied with vigor, sticking out her hand for a shake. Lanna stared at it like a roach, and Chelsea cocked an eyebrow.

"Um, it's called a handshake…" she said slowly, and Lanna twitched irately.

"I KNOW what a handshake is! Proper ladies typically nod when meeting another woman," she explained with a smirk. Chelsea scrutinized her for a moment, her mouth turned down into a frown.

"Ah, guess I wouldn't know 'rich girl etiquette,'" Chelsea said in a strangely sarcastic manner, making air quotations, and Lanna gawked at being blatantly brushed off. Denny laughed despite himself, and with a glare in Chelsea's direction Lanna pulled Denny back to their table.

"Huh…wonder what has her feather tail in a ruffle…" Chelsea pondered aloud, taking a final swig from her glasses. "Ah…that's quality milk. Well, better find the old ma…ah, Mr. Taro…" she corrected herself again.

After ordering another glass to go, the rancher girl turned to leave with a skip in her step, when she ran into a tall figure coming into the diner quite abruptly.

Milk flew everywhere, and with a grunt Chelsea landed on her butt harshly. "Oh, daggone it!" she exclaimed as a black and brown cowboy hat landed in her lap. She looked up. "Sorry…" she started to say.

Her voice seemed to fade as she looked up into unnatural purple eyes burning with annoyance, the person's lips poised in a disapproving frown. Their silver hair, drenched in quality milk, seemed to be illuminated even in the limited light, and their stylish black and brown boots were marred by milk drops as well as the rest of their cowboy getup. They reached down a hand, and Chelsea reached for it with disgruntled appreciation.

"My hat, hobo."

Chelsea's eye twitched as her blue eyes were set ablaze in a millisecond. "What." She seethed.

The silver-haired person snatched the hat off of her lap with a fingerless-gloved hand and placed it back on their head. "Retard."

Chelsea's mouth worked furiously, a vein throbbing in her forehead, but nothing came out as the person stepped around her like she was vermin. She leaped to her feet, milk droplets flying from her hair. "You're such a rude woman! Can't you at least apologize?" She hissed.

"…woman…?" the silver-haired person repeated quietly as Chelsea fumed, clenching and unclenching her fists.

"Um…Chelsea…um…" Denny began awkwardly as Lanna watched with a bemused expression. "That's not a…"

"Vaughn! There you are you…" Julia trailed off as she took in the scene before her, noting the deadly quiet of the diner, Chelsea's enraged expression and the cowboy's quietly murderous aura. "Um. The heck did I miss…?"

"I'm quite clearly a man, you filthy cowpat," he replied evenly, and Chelsea's cheeks looked akin to cherries at his words, from anger and mortification. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"Well, I apologize," Chelsea said, somewhat more rationally. "I'm sorry…sir."

He looked at her with contempt. "If you're really sorry, you'll leave me alone," he said dismissively. As the bartender handed him a mug of milk, he turned his back to her. "Don't bother me; I really don't have time for the likes of you."

"Vaughn!" Julia said quite angrily, ready to harshly intervene, but the rancher beat her to it.

Chelsea twitched as all thoughts flew far away from her head, and with a low growl she swiftly yanked away his mug, lifted his hat, and proceeded to dump its contents all over his head. His eyes widened as she slanmed his hat back onto his head and placed the mug back in his hand, and with a semi-satisfied grunt she stalked out muttering something unintelligible. As Lanna and Julia gawked after the feisty rancher speechlessly, Denny laughed like a deeply drunken coyote.

"That girl is…priceless…!" he hooted loudly. "She…sure showed you how to square-dance, eh Vaughn…? Ha ha ha!"

Vaughn wiped away a milk dribble dripping down his chin as he was handed another mug of milk by a catious bartender. "What a pain."

* * *

_AN: And…that's the end of Chapter Two! It was fun to re-imagine their encounter…they really rocketed off the wrong foot… (It's Vaughn's fault anyhow.) In case you're wondering how long this story will be…LONG. I don't believe in five-chapter-romance…heck, I don't even know if Chelsea will end up with anyone…but this chapter really had me craving milk… and having Vaughn shown up is hilarious to write…XD_

_Sayonara, HarvestDragon_


	3. Appearance of a Goddess?

Chapter Three

_Appearance of a Goddess?_

* * *

"Stupid freaky-eyed, foul-mouthed, cowboy wannabe…I ought to do the whole West a favor and drown him in a pool of boiling milk. No…that'd be too good for a lowlife like him... He called me a cowpat. And a _hobo_. And a **_retard_**? Leave him alone, eh? Who'd wanna talk to that demon son of a gun in the first place…?"

The horse, braying in protest as she viciously brushed his coat, tried in vain to flinch away from her. "He makes _you_ tolerable, you stupid horse…!" She moved on to combing his mane in an abusive manner. "He ran into _me_, and couldn't even _help_ me _up_, but proceeded to call me derogatory names...! What kind of _man_ does that? Not a _real_ one, for sure...!" As she yanked the knots out of the poor thing's mane he neighed loudly in a final defense maneuver and butted Chelsea with his steely head. She yelped in surprise as she snapped out of her hateful trance.

"Sorry. …I hope I don't have to see the demon anytime soon…" Chelsea sighed, brushing the horse with gentleness this time. "He rubs me the wrong way…"

The horse brayed with something akin to sympathy as she stood up. "I'm going to go tend to Pepper and Yellow. …Daggone it, stupid horse, you need a name!"

He looked at her, snorted, and then went back to resting peacefully. Chelsea shrugged with a sigh and walked back outside, only to be face to chest with Julia. And to be quite frank, Chelsea was not the one with the height advantage.

"Chelsea." She said, sounding decievingly calmly. Chelsea actually gulped audibly.

"Hello, friend…" Chelsea tried to ease around the taller girl slowly. "Lovely to see you...but if you'll excuse me, I have a lot work to get back to…"

"What the heck possessed you to spill Vaughn's favorite drink all over his head yesterday?" Julia demanded with her hands planted firmly on her hips. Chelsea bristled at the very mention of the rude man.

"I wasn't thinking straight...he insulted me and I...I lost my head," Chelsea said truthfully. "In all honesty, he was begging for it. He has _no manners_." She emphasized.

Julia sighed, and nodded her head in total agreement.

"Trust me, that cowboy got an EARFUL from me on his manners," Julia assured her, and Chelsea smiled a little at the thought of chatty Julia chewing him out. "I don't know what runs through that man's head sometimes…"

"I…did mistake him for a woman at first…" Chelsea admitted sheepishly. Julia giggled madly, making Chelsea embarrassed all over again about her blunder.

"That'd do it…" she said as she wiped her eyes. "But it takes a tough person to even muster up the courage to speak to him…you've definitely impressed a good number of people…"

"I acted like I was _mad_," She deadpanned dryly.

"Yes, but that cowboy has a reputation around here." Julia persisted. He works, he walks around, and he leaves. He doesn't make idle chit-chat, and really doesn't seem to like people."

"I'd say," Chelsea muttered. "Whatever. It's not like I'll have to see him on a regular basis…" Julia wrung her hands together at this statement.

"Um…well, you see, Vaughn works at the Animal…Shop…"

Chelsea covered her face with her hands in total despondence. "Ugh…"

* * *

After a long day of weed-pulling, animal-befriending and seed-planting, Chelsea felt pooped, her cheeks covered with dirt as well as her clothes. Her hair was tangled and knotted, more so than usually, and she felt like a good and refershing walk would do wonders for her mood.

"Hey, up with you, lazy bones!" she called to the sleeping horse. The horse brayed in his sleep, and Chelsea was hit with sudden and clearly divine inspiration.

"That's your name now, stupid horse."

Chelsea walked out, deciding a stroll through the town didn't sound bad. As she walked past Taro's house, she was nearly bowled over by a frantic Elliot rushing out of the dingy door.

"Chelsea! Sorry, sorry! In a rush: Natalie will kill me, kill me…!" he babbled, pushing up his glasses very agitatedly. He was dressed in dusty blue jeans and a button-up blue plaid shirt, and was carrying quite the load of cargo. "Bye!"

She watched as he scampered off, and Natalie emerged from the house a minute or so after. She was dressed in dusty blue overalls and had a green top underneath them, and had her pant legs tucked into brown boots.

"Hey, Chelsea. How was your day?" Natalie asked relatively pleasantly, clearly in a better mood than when they'd first met. Chelsea sighed, her shoulders sagging low.

"Tiring…" she replied honestly as she stretched. Natalie laughed a little.

"Ha-ha, don't worry. It'll get easier over time…" she assured the tired rancher. "Well, gotta fly. Need to find that good-for-nothing brother of mine…" and with those words she ran off in the direction that Elliot had fled earlier. Chelsea chuckled a little, and winched as her ribs ached in response. "Those two are hilarious…"

As she walked, she eventually found herself by a winding river, where a broken bridge prevented passing over it. "Hm…I wonder where that leads..." she mused as she gazed over the river thoughtfully.

The bray of a horse behind her made her jump and turn around. "Lazy Bones…?" She asked quizzically.

But the horse behind her was a stunning midnight blue stallion, its legs speckled with white, with deep, dark eyes that seemed to hum with soulfulness. Chelsea blinked as the horse stared at her with those deep orbs. "Um, hello…?" She ventured.

The horse brayed, and the sweet smell of honey oats blew into her face. "You seem so friendly…and such a lovely coat…" she hesitantly stroked its head, and it neighed at her pleasantly. "Wonder who you belong to…?"

"Hands off my horse."

Chelsea jolted at the candid command, and whipped around to see the demon in all of his rudeness. Those purple eyes, not unlike a falling night, glared daggers at her. "Frost doesn't need extra dirt in his coat."

"Excuse me?" Chelsea said incredulously. Vaughn lifted his finger to point at her in an accusitory manner.

"Wouldn't want him to get drenched with milk either," he commented in a provocative manner. "Remember yesterday, hobo girl?"

"My name's _Chelsea_!" she retorted with vehemence, shaking a fist at him. "I'm not a _hobo_," she seethed, "I'm the new _rancher_!"

Vaughn looked her over with a skeptical expression on his face. "Are you serious…? You've the body build of a child…I'm surprised at how desperate this broken-down town's gotten…"

"I…I'm not a child!" she yelled, glaring at him with unsurpressed anger. "You're just a rude, stuck-up, _demonic_ cowboy wannabe!" she fumed as he climbed onto the lovely horse. He pulled his hat over his eyes and gave her a sparing glance.

"Whatever, rancher kid." And with a skillful whip of Frost's reins, the horse and cowboy left the girl in their dust. Chelsea coughed harshly, her eyes watering as she rubbed the dirt out of her vision.

"Jerk…!" she muttered under her breath along with a curse. An admiring sigh from behind her made her jolt, and she turned to see Lanna sauntering up to her, a suave-looking fishing pole in hand.

"He's dreamy, is he not?" she said with a smile. Chelsea snorted disbelievingly.

"If being a jerk equals being dreamy, he's dreamy to the extreme," Chelsea replied simply, kicking at the sandy bank. Lanna rolled her eyes as she gestured in the direction Vaughn had disappeared to.

"Have you looked at him? If only he wasn't so unapproachable…" Lanna sighed, melancholy. "Maybe he would…oh, never mind…he's just so handsome...not to mention mysteriously untouchable...how do you do it, anyhow?"

"Huh?" Chelsea had been drifting away from the girl's unceasing chatter. "Do what?"

"You actually talked to him…and this is your second day here!" Lanna exclaimed, incredulous. Chelsea snorted again.

"It was more like his horse came up to me, then he insulted me and accosted me with his dust," she said with a twitch. "He's a demon, as far as I'm concerned, and I'm quite sure the whole underworld is missin' their leader."

Lanna gawked. "Are you serious? You're so weird! You remind me of Natalie…"

Chelsea started to walk away, lifting a hand in dismissal. "I want nothing to do with the devil." And she left the fisher woman by the bank to fantasize by herself.

* * *

"Lazy Bones…get up already ya dumb beast!" Chelsea groaned as she pushed against his side with her small body, tremors wracking her frame at the strain. "Out of the way…!"

It had been three days since the encounter with Vaughn, and Chelsea was feeling rather sunny this particular morning. Taro had taught her the farming basics, and even though her body ached like she would fall apart, she felt free. However, her lethargic horse seemed determined to ruin her great day, as he had plopped himself in front of the barn entrance and drifted off to sleep. "Ugh…!"

"Need help there, lady?" Somone's gruff voice boomed. Chelsea turned to see an incredible monster of a man, with thick arms covered with gray, coarse hair and teeth poking out of his mouth. He was bald except for wisps of gray circling his enlarged head, and wore nothing but dirty leather chaps and a white vest. Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened in a large "o."

"Whoa." You're really huge, mister."

The man instantly broke out in a barking laugh so loud that it roused Lazy Bones from his seemingly eternal slumber. "Gah-ha-ha-ha! Am I...?"

He stuck out a large gloved hand. "The name's Gannon, little lady, and I'm the blacksmith. I just decided ta move here recently. With a new rancher, business will probably pick up at a nice rate, and I've been itching for a new start, anyhow..."

Chelsea blinked as she shook his giant hand, absorbing in his words as Lazy Bones exited the scene in search of a quieter napping spot.

"Chelsea Moon..." she said in a subdued manner, "and is Sunshine Town really that dependent on their ranchers...?" Chelsea asked slowly. Gannon chuckled.

"Yer the first one in _years_. You know, this place was a ghost town. No one lived here. And it was like that fer a loooong time. Then the old man and his family moved in, and a couple of other folks. But it wouldn't last long like that, fer sure. The West ain't kind on non-ranching civilizations, and that's why yer here." Gannon explained, and patted her on the head. "Yer a tough one; I see it in yer eyes. You can call me whenever ya need an upgrade, or a handyman job done. Be seeing ya, Chelsea." And with that final remark he lumbered away, leaving the girl in the tumult of her thoughts.

_Sunshine Town is depending on me a lot..._she realized. _I can't slack at all...I gotta be as tough as nails...so_ _**that's** why that devil was looking down on me like that...! He doesn't think I can handle it!_

Chelsea gripped her hands into fists. "I'll do it...I have my slightly increasing willpower...! I...I'll turn this town around...somehow."

She gazed at the meager amount of seeds she had planted in the ground. "And I don't think this'll cut it..." she sighed, rolling up her sleeves in preparation for more back-breaking planting.

* * *

"I feel dead."

Chelsea was flopped over a table at the diner, her hair such a catastrophe that even her bandanna couldn't fully tame it. As Lanna babbled about the latest Western fashion updates, Denny found himself casting Chelsea worried glances a little too often.

"I'll be right back, Lanna," he excused himself and made his way over to Chelsea's table. She muttered something unintelligible into the wood with a groan. "Hey, um, Chelsea..."

"No more seeding...today..." she moaned. "I...hate hoeing...make it stop..."

Denny chuckled. "Chelsea, you're not at the ranch right now..."

"Eh?" She jerked her head up, her cheek smudged with a bit of dirt. "Oh, Dennis!"

"Denny..." he corrected with a smile. Poppers mimicked them from his perch on the boy's shoulder.

"Denny, Denny, Denny...Dennis, Dennis, Dennis..."

"Something ya need?" Chelsea asked. "It'll hafta wait until I feel alive again, though."

He laughed and sat down next to her. "Nah. Just wanna tease ya some more."

She blinked. "Why would you do that?"

He blinked. "Um...well...it's fun to tease people!" He replied, a bit awkwardly.

"Tease, tease, tease...fun, fun, fun..."

"Well, okay then..." Chelsea laid her head back down and went back to groaning. Denny chewed his lip in thought before raising his hand to signal the bartender. "Two chocolate ice-creams, if you please!"

As the bartender nodded and went to prepare the dessert, Denny poked Chelsea's cheek in a silly manner. "Hey! Don't fall asleep on me!" He laughed.

"Tired...Dennis..."

"It's been a long day, eh?"

"Seeds...dirt...sun..."

"Well, don't go to bed just yet. You need a treat, that's the problem!" As the words left his mouth, the bartender returned with the desserts. "And I got ya one."

Chelsea sniffed, smelling the rich chocolate treat. "Mmmm...smells...good..."

Denny laughed again as the rancher sniffed at the treat like a puppy. "Dig in!"

She didn't need to be told twice. Grabbing the spoon, she took a big scoop and shoved it into her mouth. Her eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Dish ish da besht stuff I evar had!" she exclaimed through her food. "Thanksh sho much!"

"You haven't taken a break. It's the least this fisherman could do," Denny grinned as he prepared to take a bite out of his own treat, but suddenly his ear was swiftly pinched by skillful fingers. "Ouch!"

"And wanna know the best thing this little fisherman can do right now?" Lanna asked innocently as she tugged harshly on his ear. He winced as she lowered her mouth so it was poised by his ear.

"_GET BACK TO YOUR DATE_!" she roared in his ear, and with that, she pulled him away from his dessert. Turning painfully in Lanna's deadly ear grip, he grinned at Chelsea and gave her a thumbs up. She grinned just as wide and gave him a thumbs up back, and then turned her attention towards her dessert and Denny's untouched treat. "Yummy..."

* * *

"Wow...Denny's sure a great person!" Chelsea thought to herself as she walked home by herself, patting her stomach contently. "Ice cream really hits the spot...!"

As the moon shone on her with its soft, innocent light, Chelsea whistled as she plodded on unsuspectingly. Unbeknownst to her, a pair of yellow animal eyes followed her every move, a soft snarling barely audible. As she spotted her ranch up ahead, she sighed with relief, ready for a hard-earned rest.

A vicious snarl made her heart skip a beat, and she whipped around to see a black and gray coyote, its teeth bared in a ferocious grin. Forcing a gulp of fear down her throat, she slowly stepped back. The coyote followed, its body vibrating with its growling. Chelsea noted the pain and slight confusion in the animal's eyes, and decided it was approaching in a defensive manner, as the ears were drooped and not laid back flat. Chelsea gulped as a thought crossed her mind, but decided it would be the best course of action.

She puffed out her chest and made a loud hooting noise, making the coyote whimper and draw back. She approached it, flapping her arms and hooting loudly, and the coyote turned tail and fled. She let out an extremely relieved sigh, and wiped her hand over her clammy forehead.

"Too close..." she breathed out in relief, and jogged the rest of the way to her ranch. As she approached the entrance to her home, a bright light suddenly blinded her, and with a yelp she attempted to shield them. "Gah...!" She cried out, unable to see anything but white light everywhere.

_She's the one...? _Chelsea heard a light, innocent voice ask gently.

_She'll bring back life to the town...?_ Said another voice, more serious than the first.

_I dunno, she looks kinda scrawny..._ said a third voice that sounded extremely arrogant.

At the last voice, Chelsea twitched, irritated. "Don't diss my stature!" She said as her vision slowly returned.

There was dead silence for a moment.

_She can hear us..._the serious voice said finally.

_Wow...she really must be the one!_ The gentle voice exclaimed.

_So we waited all this time for a scrawny_ girl...? The arrogant voice asked in disbelief. _There_ must _be_ some _mistake..._

Chelsea decided that whoever owned that last voice must be the demon's twin.

_Let's reveal ourselves!_ The gentle voice said, and another flash blinded Chelsea once more. When she looked around, the same gentle voice piped up.

"Down here...!"

She looked down, and sure enough, a tiny elf creature clad in red was sitting on her boot. "Gah!" She screeched. "Little demons!"

"Don't freak out; we won't hurt you!" The elf tried to reassure her, patting her big toe. "Come on out, you two!"

With two more flashes of light, a green elf and a blue elf stood by the red one. The green one bowed.

"I am most honored to meet you, Chosen," he said, obviously the serious voice.

"Um, thank you...?" Chelsea replied awkwardly. The blue one sneered unpleasantly.

"Geez, Harvest Goddess, what are you thinking...?" He sighed, apparentky annoyed. "If the so-called 'hero' was gonna look like this, us sprites should've just done the daggone job ourselves!"

The green sprite gave him a good smack upside the head. "Fool! The Harvest Goddess is wise and pure. She chose a person that she knew could do it. So respect the goddess's decision; it's high time you shaped up your attitude, Pride."

"Yeah, I'll listen to you as soon as you become fun. And guess what? You'll never be fun," Pride replied with a snap. Chelsea just stared at the quarreling sprites with a confused expression, vaguely wondering if she was hallucinating.

"Don't mind them!" The red sprite said, drawing back her attention. "Actually, we're representatives of the Harvest Goddess herself, and we have an urgent message from her to you, Chelsea!"

She blanched. "How do you..."

"The Harvest Goddess knows a lot of things, scrawny girl," Pride sneered at her, and she shot him a dirty look.

"Shut up, Pride," the green sprite snapped. Pride rolled his eyes.

"Yes, all mighty Sober." Pride said mockingly, bowing in a taunting manner. Sober shook his head disapprovingly. The red sprite frowned at them before continuing.

"Chelsea, we are here to tell you that it is of utmost importance that you revive the town! The goddess's essence is woven into this place...and to give her strength once again, revival is necessary! I won't lie. It'll be a long and difficult process..." the red sprite paused. "Chelsea...? Are you willing to help her?"

"Are you kidding me?"

The sprite looked up at her with disbelief in his eyes, only to see the girl had a huge smile on her face. "It's not everyday that the Harvest Goddess herself sends her servants to ask people favors, eh?"

The red sprite sighed in relief as the green one nodded. "As I expected."

Pride snorted. "Good luck, scrawny girl..."

Chelsea gazed at the three. "Will I ever see the Harvest Goddess in person...?" She asked.

The red one grinned. "Soon!" He replied. "Don't worry; we'll definitely help you along the way!"

"Pfft. Count me out of that." Pride snorted with contempt, and disappeared in a flash. Sober rolled his eyes.

"My apologies, Chosen. Till we meet again," Sober said, and disappeared in a flash as well. The red one grinned at her.

"Call me anytime you need me, okay Chelsea?" The red sprite said. Chelsea rubbed her eyes.

"What's your name?" She yawned despite herself, and the sprite smiled as he began to fade.

"Coral." And he was gone. With another yawn, Chelsea stumbled into her house and collapsed on her bed, her brain muddled. All her mind could repeat was a broken sentence.

_Harvest...sprites...goddess...town..._

**_I must be going crazy already._**

* * *

_AN: And that's the end of chapter three! The appearance of a couple of sprites (gave them personality because I **can**), Gannon, and the Harvest Goddess! Huzzah! Her actions should be interesting, since Chelsea has little sprites that follow her now...Vaughn is not making Chelsea like him at all...demon...and Denny was such a generous fellow this chappy...why am I still writing this stupid note, no one's reading it anyhow...XD_

_Aloha, HarvestDragon_


	4. Heat, Horses and Bridges, Oh My!

Chapter Four

_Heat, Horses and Bridges, Oh My!_

* * *

The next day, Chelsea had woken up somewhat refreshed, and had stepped outside ready to face the day, only to be nearly bowled over by an intense heatwave. The girl had rolled up her sleeves begrudgingly and set out to another day of hard labor; which meant pulling weeds, watering, grooming and tearing up all in the hot sun. By the time Pepper's coat was rippling with perfection, she was leaking sweat, with dirt smeared all over her pants and on her face. "Geez...this is so demanding." She muttered to herself tiredly.

After picking up Lazy Bones from the stable, she decided she'd give the laid-back horse a workout. "You sleep more than a fat cat..." she commented with a sigh. The horse brayed half-heartedly, a bit warm himself, and let the girl clamber into the saddle. As she gripped the reins, she heard a voice from directly behind her call out cockily.

"And where are you going, scrawny girl?"

Chelsea sighed and turned around to see Pride on Lazy Bones's rear. "Do you need something? I thought you wanted nothing to do with me, remember?" She half-hoped he'd take the bait and leave.

Pride grinned quite wickedly, his expression quite gremlin-like. "Changed my mind. It wouldn't hurt to tag along; see what you do everyday..." he continued in a deceivingly innocent tone.

Chelsea looked at him suspiciously, but shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever." With a whip of the reins Lazy Bones started to gallop, and Pride nearly fell off. "Hey!"

"Oops." She said as the sprite glared daggers at her, holding onto the horse's tail for dear life. "My bad."

In a minute or so, Chelsea was in town, and slowed Lazy Bones's gallop into a trot. She passed Taro's place, where Elliot and Natalie were stacking crates. Elliot spotted her and waved, and Natalie turned to smile at her. Chelsea waved back with a grin and continued on. Pride snorted.

"They have weird hair." He said with a snicker. "Poor boy; it's really not flattering on him especially..."

"You have green hair," she pointed out with a smug smile. He shrugged at this accustation.

"The difference is that I look _good_ with my hair green," he replied pridefully. "Whereas he does not pull off pink hair at all." He sat back, confident that this argument had been won in his favor.

Chelsea rolled her eyes as they passed the Animal Shop and Julia, who was guiding a large black cow to the barn, waved at her. Chelsea waved back, and Pride also mockingly started to wave as well.

"All hail the mighty hero, Chelsea!" He said obnoxiously, and Chelsea glared at him.

"How about you shut up?" She snapped, and he snickered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, your royal ship...hath I offended thee?" Was his snarky reply. Chelsea resisted the urge to flick him off of Lazy Bones's butt and instead sped up the horse's pace. Soon they were on the outskirts of town near the river, and Chelsea decided to turn back. Before she could, Pride spoke up, his usually arrogant voice serious.

"I sense something..." he muttered. Chelsea looked at him curiously as she stopped her horse with a tug of the reins.

"Like what...?" She asked despite herself. His eyes were closed in concentration, and he pointed towards the west river. "I'm not sure...but it's over there..."

Chelsea kicked her horse with her spurs and with a neigh he charged towards the river at full speed, the wind whipping through her hair. "Yah!"

As they approached the broken bridge Pride twitched a bit as he opened his eyes. "The other side..." he said finally. "It's definitely over there."

"The bridge's broken, though..." Chelsea said, disappointed. Pride crossed his arms with a snort.

"Fix it then!" Pride said candidly, and she shot him another glare.

"Do I_ look_ like a bridge builder to you?" She asked him incredulously. Pride shrugged.

"Well, now that you mention it-"

"Shut up."

"Well, do you know anyone who can, O wise one?" Pride asked, looking at her with a frustration of sorts. Chelsea rolled her eyes at the cocky sprite, and crossed her arms as she closed her eyes in thought.

"Of course not!" She exclaimed. "Who in tarnation would be big and strong enough to repair a bridge in this town? That's..."

Her eyes widened as she was struck with sudden inspiration. "Oh...OH! Gannon! _GANNON_!"

"You're not that bright, are you...?" Pride sighed with a half-smirk. Chelsea kicked her spurs hard into Lazy Bones's sides, and with a loud neigh he took off, again nearly throwing the sprite off the horse. "_HEY_!"

As the girl and horse galloped back towards town, a pair of wild yellow eyes watched them until they disappeared. A voice, raspy and curious, was lost on the wind as it spoke.

"Huuka...?"

* * *

"Ya want me ta fix the bridge, eh?"

Chelsea had hunted around for the carpenter for a good while, checking in his vacant shop and around it, as well as riding up and down town, before finding him in the diner bar where he was guzzling down apple cider like no man's business.

"Yes, if it isn't a bother..." she replied. He laughed that booming laugh of his, and Pride cover his ears, wincing, and shot a glare at the carpenter.

"Bother? I've been waiting fer someone ta give me work!" Gannon laughed. "So, do ya have the money fer it?"

"It depends..." Chelsea said a bit fearfully.

"Since yer looking at 45,000 G..." Gannon finished. Chelsea's jaw dropped as her blue eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"I don't have that much...!" She choked out, and the carpenter frowned.

"Eh, well, guess ya have a goal ta work towards," he said after a pause. "And I also do road repairs for 10,000 G, just so ya know."

Chelsea blinked dumbly, and turned around in a robotic manner as she shuffled towards the exit. Gannon watched her sympathetically before ordering another glass of apple juice. "Girl's got her work cut out fer her..."

"45,000 G..." Chelsea repeated numbly as she clambered into Lazy Bones's saddle. "I'll have to work for the rest of my life at the rate I'm making money..."

"Don't mope, scrawny. It's just to show that making this town busy and alive again is gonna take some serious dedication," Pride said, looking at the depressed rancher. "And...if you try...maybe a scrawny girl like you...can do it..."

Chelsea turned to look at him with a small smile. "What? The sprite that insulted me yesterday is trying to cheer me up? How cute."

"Wha...? I...I just can't stand a mopey scrawny girl, is all!" Pride defended himself, his small cheeks a bit pink. "Don't say stupid things, you skinny moron."

Chelsea smirked to herself as Lazy Bones began to trot back up to the ranch as the midday sun shone brightly overhead. "Well, back to work, I guess."

* * *

The rest of the week was pure blood, sweat and tears for the newbie rancher, as she bonded with her calf and chick as well as shipping several turnips and taming the land. Her body seemed to ache more and more each day as she pushed herself hard, working sunup until midday under the blazing hot sun, taking a short break and visiting before going back to the ranch to work again. At night she'd roam around for profitable wild items to ship, and would flop into bed late at night before rising early the next morning, with Pride, Sober and Coral giving her advice and helping around. When Monday rolled around again Chelsea felt like it had been a million years since she had arrived when in reality it had only been a week. Currently she was in Taro's house, sitting on a well-worn wooden chair and admiring its comfortable atmosphere.

"Congrats, youngster, you've been on the island for a week," Taro exclaimed as Felicia clapped daintly, her sweet face brightened with a glowing smile.

"You've worked so hard, Chelsea," Felicia said as she walked up to the girl. "The town's revenue has improved already, thanks to your persistence!"

"Good to know...my efforts aren't in vain..." Chelsea replied, rubbing her eyes. Felicia noted that Chelsea's face looked slightly pale, but didn't want Chelsea to feel harassed by quizzing her on her health. "I hafta get back to work now...thanks, and see you around..."

As the rancher exited the house with shuffling steps, Felicia looked over at Taro. "She's a bit pale, Taro..."

"I suppose she did look a little out of it. Ranching does take a lot out of ya." He replied. She shook her head, her brows crinkling.

"I hope she's not working too hard..." Felicia commented a bit worriedly. "Nobody can handle doing so much work in this sun everyday without a lot of rest..."

Taro grunted, and said nothing more as Felicia walked away from him to go about her chores.

* * *

"Hey, Chelsea?"

Currently the red sprite Coral was with the rancher, perched on her shoulder contently as she started Lazy Bones in a comfortable trot.

"Yeah?" She replied. The sprite furrowed his brow.

"Are you okay...? You seem a little out of sorts..." Coral said, his gentle voice tinged with worry. Chelsea smiled reassuringly at the sprite.

"I'm fine, no worries..." Chelsea with confidence. "A little headache won't kill me..."

Coral crossed his arms as she turned back to looking in front of her, his worries unrelieved as the rancher whipped the horse's reins. "You've worked really hard, Chelsea, but you shouldn't overdo it. It's really hot here, and your body's still becoming accustomed to work..."

Chelsea sighed. "Relax, Coral, I'm fine..." she assured him. I'll take you for a ride; it'll help clear your head."

Lazy Bones picked up his pace, his trot turning into a relaxed gallop as Chelsea whipped his reins, and headed for the riverbank. As she passed the Animal Shop, she saw Julia talking to someone in front of the shop, and she frowned as she recognized the person. Unconsciously stopping her horse, Julia's voice was carried by the wind so that Chelsea could hear her loud and clear.

"Vaughn, you need to take a break," Julia said, her tone that of frustration. "Always working, working, working!"

"Just let me in, woman." Vaughn seemed annoyed at her, his arms crossed. His foot was tapping a steady rhythm into the ground as he fixed Julia with his unnaturally cold eyes. "I don't have time for this; I've got work to do."

"Oh, no you don't! My mother says she's giving you the day off, cowboy, whether ya like it or not, so I advise you go do something worthwhile...like have _FUN_!" And with that Julia slammed the door in his face, her mutterings audible as she stomped further into the recesses of the Animal Shop.

"...Women..." Vaughn said, quite irritated. "Such an enigma..."

A tug on the rancher's clothes from Coral snapped her out of her staring, and Chelsea whipped Lazy Bones's reins a bit too harshly. "Let's go!"

The horse neighed, and Vaughn turned head just in time to see her and the horse galloping away, dust flying in their wake. He gazed after them for a moment before sticking two fingers in his mouth and whistling a complex series of pitches. With a rumble of the ground, his magnificent horse Frost was at his side in mere seconds.

"How about a run, Frost?"

"Ugh..." Chelsea groaned as she pushed her steed onward. "_He's_ in town again..."

"Huh? What's wrong with him?" Coral asked curiously as he leaped from her shoulder onto the horse's back. Chelsea blew an immature raspberry.

"His existence in general..."

The sound of thundering hooves turned her head, and a midnight horse passed Lazy Bones with ease. "What the...?" She articulated

The dark rider looked back at her with cold purple eyes, and Chelsea furrowed her brow. "Demon...?"

"Frost." And with a snort the lovely horse began to speed away. She gritted her teeth, annoyed at being showed up by him, and Lazy Bones snorted indignantly. She grinned down at her horse.

"Let's go, Lazy Bones!" She cried with a whip of the reins, and the brown horse took off at a full-blown sprint. In a few seconds the two horses were neck and neck, and Vaughn looked at Chelsea with an emotion akin to surprise.

"You want a race, demon?" She asked him with a wide grin, her competitive blood pumping hard in her veins. The cowboy looked at her for a moment before smirking slightly with contempt.

"No hobo's horse could beat Frost." And the midnight blue horse pulled ahead once more. Chelsea growled as Lazy Bones neighed angrily. Coral was clutching the horse's hair, his face rapidly blending in with his hair as he whimpered.

"You're not gonna let demons show you up, are ya? Come on you stupid horse!" Chelsea said, her hair whipping wildy. "Push yourself! Let's GO!" She urged, ignoring her ever-increasing headache.

With a snort, the lethargic horse launched into a hyper sprint, and bypassed the midnight horse. Chelsea grinned cheekily at the cowboy, whose face was the closest she'd ever seen to shocked. "Looks like the hobo's horse is whipping your cheeks, demon! Yah!"

Vaughn frowned a bit, his eyes narrowing at the girl's challenge. "You wish."

"Eh?" Chelsea said as Vaughn lowered himself in his saddle.

"Frost! Full speed!" He commanded, and the horse's hooves seemed to turn into a giant blur as they gained on Lazy Bones. Chelsea gritted her teeth as she spurred her steed, urging him to speed up as Frost was now neck and neck with them. The stoic cowboy glanced at her as she urged her steed onward with extreme intensity.

_She's competitive, huh_... he thought. She shot him a glare that could've incinerated ice.

"I'm not losing to you...!" Chelsea said with determination, clutching the reins tightly. "I don't quit, so don't look at me like I should."

Vaughn noted the sheen of sweat on her unusually pale face, and the rancher's rather labored breathing. "You should stop," he warned, abeit implusively. Her face twisted angrily at his seemingly belittling comment.

"Did anything I just said even register?" She demanded with sizzling venom, and suddenly her head felt as it would split apart. "I'm...I'm not..." she gasped for breath heavily and Vaughn's eyes widened in realization.

Her hands slackened, and the reins flew out of her hands at that moment, confusing her now riderless horse. Vaughn cursed as he reached for her with a gloved hand as she pitched backwards, her eyes closing. His fingers brushed hers as he leaned out of his saddle, but she slipped away, her body plummeting out of her seat. She hit the ground hard, tumbling over and over as her horse reared up with a neigh, before stopping face up, her face ashen. Coral's eyes were teary as he hopped off of the horse and ran to Chelsea's side. "Chelsea...!"

The cowboy leaped off his mount and raced towards the fallen rancher, kneeling by her side to check her pulse at her neck, and then taking off his glove to feel her forehead. His brow furrowed as he made a tching sound, his eyes narrowing.

"Heat Syndrome..."

* * *

_AN: Oh yeah. You better believe it. Imma leaving ya'll on a cliff hanger...of sorts. Cry. Scream. Curse HarvestDragon to the high skies. You can't do anything...trololololo. Will Chelsea be alright? What will Vaughn do to help his instant rival, and will I possibly get more reviews? XD_

_And I am seriously loving the sprites. Guess which one is my favorite? (I'm sorry, if Chelsea isn't dead Sober will be more of an impact next chapter. I feel bad for hardly mentioning that serious greenie...;.;)_

_Until next time...!_

_Good-bye, HarvestDragon_


	5. Ranch Fever

Chapter Five

_Ranch Fever_

* * *

Chelsea walked across the west bridge, feeling slightly woozy as she stepped onto the other side. "Weird...I don't think I fixed this...maybe I did, though..." she dismissed her nonsensical ramblings and looked at the looming trees ahead with curiosity. "I wonder what's in there..."

The sound of wild whooping filled the air around her, and she stumbled back as a lean, lithe figure landed on top of her, the blade of a spear pressed into her stomach. The person's whole body vibrated with their vicious growls, their wild golden eyes animalistic and free from human rationality

"Hey...! Who the heck are you?" She demanded, struggling to free herself. The person barked out a strange, guttural language, the spear's pressure increasing on her belly, and she bit back a cry at the pain. A gentle voice spoke around her and in her, their warm and gentle tone soothing despite the glaring danger.

_Remember this, Chelsea...remember this which I show you..._

"What are you showing me...?" Chelsea asked. "Who are you...? Come back! Help me...!" She yelled out. "Anyone...anyone...!"

The pressure on her stomach disappeared in an instant, and Chelsea got up slowly, only to have an invisible force shake her shoulders roughly. "...Rancher..!" A disembodied voice called to her, barely audible.

"Huh? ...Wh-what is it...?" She asked tiredly as the force shook her harder, more disjointed words floating around her ears. "Speak...up more..."

"For the goddess's sake, get _up_!"

Chelsea's eyes snapped open and with a strangled cry kicked at the force with all her might, and a string of curses filled the air as a dull thud registered in her ears. Her eyes wild, she scooted into the farthest corner of the bed as a figure rose to their feet, and those annoyed purple eyes that met hers cleared her mind as she gazed at them for a few moments.

"The heck...?" She said blatantly, looking about herself. "Why are you in my house...?" She stammered as Vaughn clutched his right eye. He frowned at her with annoyance as she tried to calm down her frayed nerves.

"You passed out while trying to race me," he explained rather coldly, "so I took you back to your ranch."

"I...passed out...?" She repeated, feeling her forehead in disbelief as she ignored his subtle snide comment. "I had a bit of a headache, but fainting...?" She looked around. "And how long was I out, then...?"

"A symptom of Heat Syndrome," he dismissed her disbelieving words. "Common in overworked children and sometimes young adults. It can cause mild fevers, delusional dreams, headaches, fainting and erratic behavior. And you were out for about three hours...I say you've been working too hard."

"I...I'm not sick," She protested, crossing her arms in stubbornness. "I'm fine as I am."

"You passed out _on your horse._ A tiny body frame like yours isn't strong enough to handle so much work in the Western sun," he replied evenly, removing his hand from his accosted eye, and Chelsea noticed the black eye with a mix of satisfaction and slight guilt. She adverted her eyes from his face pointedly.

"Well, why did you stick around if you brought me home?" She asked curiously. He rolled his eyes in a condescending manner as he dusted off his brown chaps.

"I was making sure your temperature didn't skyrocket while you were unconscious," he answered with zero emotion. "It would be foolish to leave a feverish girl alone in a hot house."

Chelsea curled her lip. "Stop talking like that," she demanded suddenly. He looked at her oddly.

"...Like what?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She gestured wildly towards him.

"Like someone who's superior to every living thing on the daggone planet!" Chelsea said frustratedly. "It ticks me off, you're not a god you know. You're just a vain cowboy!"

Vaughn snorted. "This coming from someone who looks like they roll in the dirt with pigs every morning," he retorted coldly, tipping down his hat over his face. "I have important things to get back to. I advise that you don't push it, rancher kid. Heat Syndrome ain't something to take so lightly."

"Whatever, door's that way," she snapped as she leaped off the bed, causing her head to spin a bit. She pointed at the doorway expectantly. "Please visit again _never._"

Without a goodbye of any sort, the cowboy exited the house after a final glance at her, closing the door with a rough bang. Muttering under her breath she groped around the bed for her red bandanna, which she tied around her head firmly, and snarled some more as she stomped outside.

"Mabye I would've thanked him if he didn't act like he had a horseshoe up his butt," she muttered angrily to herself as she headed down to the stable, where Lazy Bones was anxiously waiting for her return. At the sight of her he neighed happily and nuzzled her face, making her laugh a bit. "So he brought you back...I guess his heart isn't completely gone," Chelsea admitted as she stroked him gently. She shook her head, as if trying to shake away any positive thoughts about Vaughn. "But the majority of it is." She corrected herself

* * *

"Vaughn? Where've ya been today?" Julia asked as the moody cowboy brushed past her into the Animal Shop. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" She said.

He turned to glare at her icily. "None of your business."

Julia grinned to herself, secretly enjoying the handsome man's brooding aura, and decided to poke at his buttons a little more. "Did you see Chelsea today? Maybe you should drop in and say hello...?" She cooed. "I think she'd like to see you again..."

Vaughn, instead of taking the bait, walked away from her with a defeated sigh. "I've already seen too much of the rancher kid today..." And with that he disappeared into his far reaches of the shop.

Julia, instead of pursuing him, stood there, a bit dumbfounded, and scrunched up her brow in thought. "Wonder what he means by that..." she muttered curiously, playing with a strand of her flaxen hair in her thoughtfulness.

* * *

Not too far away from there, Chelsea was sitting on the riverbank in a lax fashion, also playing with a strand of her hair. Her eyes were distant as she stared into the water, her lids fluttering sleepily as the sun cast its dying rays on her form. Bright flashes shone in the corner of her left eye, and she turned to see Sober, Pride and Coral standing there, their faces crinkled with worry.

"Hey, guys..." she greeted them as Pride pointed a tiny finger in her face.

"Idiot! Have you ever heard the saying, 'don't be stupid and work like a old weathered rancher man?" He demanded, and Chelsea shook her head, her eyes wide with surprise at his rage.

"Good, cuz I just made it up. _**STUPID**, ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF_?" Pride yelled at the top of his tiny lungs. Sober put a hand on his shoulder, and the fiery blue sprite shrugged him off irritatedly.

"Always have respectful speech, Pride," the wise green sprite chided, and then turned to Chelsea. "However, the way you pace yourself, Chosen, is dangerous and not at all beneficial to your overall health..."

"We were so worried, Chelsea...!" Coral sniffed as he clutched her shirt fabric in relief and concern. "Don't scare us like that...!" He wailed, and a big tear rolled down his small face.

"I...I'm sorry..." she apologized tentatively as Coral cried into her shirt. Pride huffed in annoyance.

"Yes you are," he muttered, earning a merciless flick to his head. "Ouch!" He glared at the rancher.

"It is quite alright, Chosen," Sober said with a bow. Coral hugged the fabric of her shirt closer to him, murmuring regrets and ramblings of forgiveness. With a smile she hugged the red sprite with her hand as the other sprites smiled a little at the sight.

"Well, I think an early night would do me wonders, don't you think?" The rancher said thoughtfully as the howl of a coyote echoed into the dusk. "Let's go, you three."

* * *

The next two weeks were grueling, with Chelsea pushing herself to her limits. The sprites kept a watchful eye over the hard-working girl, and made sure she didn't experience Heat Syndrome again by making her rest at regular intervals, as well as helping out with minor work. Pride mashed rocks in her way with his large hammer, and Sober kept track of the farm's necessities. Coral gave out helpful advice to the girl as she went from task to task, and she milked Pepper, who was nearly at her largest, every day now, as well as receiving a daily egg from Yellow the chicken. As she raised her crops faithfully, she also managed to plant a few trees as well after receiving them as a gift from Taro. After farm work, she would usually hang with Denny for a bit, fishing and laughing at his stories, and also pay Taro and his family a daily visit. Most days she'd drop by the Animal Shop, exchanging icy glares with Vaughn when he was there and chatting with Mirabelle and Julia, and then finally would drop by the diner for a bite, exchanging pleasantries with the friendly bartender Daniel. On Friday of her third week on the island, she checked her mail and bounced about in joy.

"Finally! I have enough money to build that bridge!" She exclaimed, her smile infectious as she rushed downtown, heading to Gannon's place . "I can do it...!" She cried, throwing her hands up in a carefree fashion.

The feverish dream she'd had two weeks before came to her mind for some reason, and she shook it off in her ecstasy. "Praise the goddess, I can finally do it!"

"Good job..." Pride mumbled bad-temperately as he yawned. "Geez, I'm tired..."

His complaints were lost on the happy rancher. "Gannon! Gannon!" She called as she approached his shop.

"Wha...? Oh, Chelsea..." he greeted as he saw her, dropping his axe laxly. "Need something?"

She shoved the bills in his face. "The west bridge."

Gannon barked out that laugh of his, and Pride muttered unpleasant things under his breath as he yawned again. "Ha-ha-ha! I knew ya wouldn't back down! Yer something, little Missy... Well, I'll get ta work!" He said, taking the money. "It'll be ready in a day or so."

"A day?" She exclaimed. Gannon grinned as he flexed his massive biceps.

"I charge a little high...for my fast services," he explained as his giant muscles rippled. "It's a fair trade, me thinks." And with that he lumbered off. Chelsea turned to Pride with vigor, her blue eyes sparkling brightly.

"We'll finally cross that bridge!" She exclaimed, and he mustered up another yawn in response. "Wonderful."

With an extra bounce in her step, the rancher bounced merrily towards her ranch, happy her work had reaped its reward. A familiar, gentle voice in her ears stopped her in her tracks though, and her eyes widened.

_Chelsea...can you hear me?_

"Yes...you're the voice from that feverish dream I had...!" She realized as the smile melted from her face. "I'm hearing voices now...? The second step to insanity..." she said darkly to herself.

_No...not just a voice...I am..._ The voice paused. _I am...the Harvest Goddess..._

"What? No way...!" She said in disbelief. "Geez, what did I take this morning...?" She muttered, concerned about her mental stability. The voice sighed, and it was like the rustling of fresh leaves on a breezy day.

_I am truly communicating with you, Chelsea..._ The voice assured her, and she bit her lip thoughtfully.

"Really?"

_Yes...I have shown you a vision, with my limited power, and I am here to warn you to be prepared when you cross that bridge..._ The goddess replied quietly. Chelsea cocked her head to the side, a bit lost on what the goddess meant.

"For what, Harvest Goddess?" Chelsea asked, curious and a bit fearful. The goddess's voice faded slowly as she whispered her parting word into the apprehensive girl's ear, a simply chilling statement that sent goose flesh skittering down Chelsea's slightly sunburnt arms.

_Anything._ And just like that, the comforting aura of the goddess was gone, and Chelsea felt oddly empty without it. Pride poked her cheek in agitation, apparently sensing the goddess's presence before she had vanished.

"What did the goddess say to you, skinny bones?" He demanded. "She isn't very strong right now, so whatever she told you must be important!"

"She...she just told me to be ready when I cross the west bridge..." Chelsea quoted, and Pride's face scrunched up in confusion.

"What the heck does that mean...?" The blue spite said, unsure of what to make of it. "Ready...? Ready for what, though...?"

"Well, one's things for sure," the rancher said, crossing her arms. "That bridge is either gonna cause an amazing amount of good, or..."

The two looked at each other. "Or something extremely bad's gonna happen..." Pride finished for her.

* * *

The next day Chelsea rose to a heavy knocking at her door, and with a groan she opened the door only to see Gannon standing there.

"Bridge's done," he stated simply. "Have fun with that. Strange noises come from over the river, though. Real weird...but never mind that. See ya." And the carpenter lumbered away.

"Strange noises, huh?" Chelsea muttered as she went back inside to grab her signature red bandanna, tying around her head. "I better get going, then!" She hurried outside to her stable and whistled. "Lazy Bones! Come here!"

The brown horse trotted up to her with a neigh, and she jumped onto the saddle. "Let's go!"

Lazy Bones thundered off the ranch, sprinting towards the river with Chelsea whipping his reins. They were there in no time, the sun still sleeping beneath its cloudy blanket, and she looked across the fixed green bridge with anticipation. "Stay here, Boney." She commanded, and clambered off her horse with a grunt. "I'm going over...!"

With a protesting snort, the horse agitatedly stomped his feet, his eyes wide as he was helpless to follow his master. Chelsea crossed the bridge slowly, the hollow sound of her footsteps unnerving her deeply. The fish in the river thrashed about playfully, contrasting with Chelsea's dark apprehension. As she reached the end of the bridge, she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Well. I got across alright. So far so good..."

Walking a bit more confidently, she found herself in a forest-like environment, animal cries frequently echoing around her. She surveyed the dark forest ahead of her with slight uneasiness. "I wonder what's in there..."

The sound of rustling in the undergrowth made her flinch, and she looked around with increasing terror. "Who's there?" She asked, and a rustle was her only answer. Turning her whole body around, she looked for signs of any life whatsoever. "Anyone...?"

An animalistic snarl made her heart leap, and a pair of wild gold eyes in the darkness locked with hers. "Grrrraawr...!" The roar of such a fearsome-sounding creature made her palms clammy and as she backed up, the growling increased.

"Leave me alone; I-I don't mean any harm!" She said, and the growl of the animal made her flinch again. "I'm sorry...!" She continued fearfully, holding up her arms in front of her defensively.

With a final, terror-striking roar, a lithe, lean figure leaped out of the undergrowth, landing right on the terrified rancher, their body tense and their eyes wild as Chelsea found a spear pressed against her soft throat. She lifted wide eyes to see a tanned boy clothed in nothing but a gray loincloth and arm covers made from some kind of animal fur on top of her stomach, his golden eyes filled with wildness. He cocked an eyebrow as he stared at her with those intense eyes that seemed to peer into her soul, and she decided she should try to speak to him.

_The worst he can do is kill me, and that looks likely anyhow..._

"Um...I'm not trying to be a bother..." she said slowly. The boy curled his lip, but his eyes seemed to widen a little bit as sign of decreased agression.

"...Coyoko..." he muttered, and pressed his spear against her throat a little more. "Coyoko wokao."

"Gak...! H-hey!" She managed to choke out. "That's...that's..." she closed her eyes suddenly as she sighed softly. The boy stepped off of her, and cautiously sniffed at her neck. Apparently satisfied, he closed his eyes and grunted.

"Gigo...Wada noka wadeyo." And with that, the boy gathered her up in his arms and headed back into the dark forest, leaving nothing behind but a red bandanna.

* * *

Vaughn crossed his arms as his steed Frost trotted along, heading for Sunshine Town at a brisk pace. Behind him, a small carriage pulled by Frost had two figures inside it, one tall and one short, and the sun beat down on the barren dusty terrain that the quad-some was currently traversing. One of the shadowy figures in the carriage sighed with boyish impatientence.

"Are we almost there, Mr. Vanny?" The boyish voice asked. Vaughn growled softly, evidently not hearing this question for the first time.

"It's Vaughn. And yeah, we'll be there in an..." suddenly the cowboy's eyes widened as a cold chill snaked down his spine as a voice whispered in his ear.

_Chelsea..._

"What the...who are you and what do you want with the rancher kid?" He demanded coolly, looking all around for the source of the voice, and finding none. The voice whispered once more into his ears and that chill went down his spine again.

_Chelsea is..._

"She's what?" Vaughn asked, narrowing his eyes. "What's wrong with her?"

But the voice was gone, and much as he hated to admit it, he was uneasy for the rancher girl's sake. He whipped the reins and with a snort Frost took off much faster than before.

"Hey, is there something wrong mister...? Did you not hear my question...?" The boy asked quizzically. Vaughn smirked ever so slightly as Frost's hooves creamed the dirt with his speed.

"An instant, kid. We'll be there in an instant."

* * *

_AN: DUN DUN DUN...! The Harvest Goddess DID sense something would happen...poor Chelsea has been kidnapped by a rather good-looking man clad in nothing but a loincloth! And Vaughn has a bad feeling in his bones... What will happen next? Don't worry, the next chapter's gonna be out soon!_

_Or will it?_

_Aloha, HarvestDragon_


	6. A Wild Boy's Entrance!

Chapter Six

_A Wild Boy's Entrance!_

* * *

As Chelsea felt herself being placed down on soft furs, she waited a few minutes before she opened her eyes slowly, turning her head slightly to see her 'kidnapper'. He sat on the floor, looking out the window in a surprisingly calm and intelligent manner. She smiled to herself proudly, her expression sly.

_Ha. I knew it would pay off to act unconscious_...she thought, pleased that she was not being roasted over a large fire at the moment. She sat herself up and scrutinized him head to toe, from his smooth brown skin to his lithe and well-built frame as well as the gray fur bands around his ankles.. He wore no shoes at the moment, but a pair of brown moccasin-like shoes were tucked by the entrance to the rather small hut she was trapped in. He also had white tribal-looking whisker marks on his face, three on each side. _Who is this guy...? _She wondered as he narrowed his eyes a bit, deep in thought. ..._He reminds me of...of..._

With a twitch of his body he turned to look her straight in the eye, curious. She adverted her eyes, fiddling with her hands in embarrassment at being caught staring so openly, and the wild boy made a low sound in the back of his throat before sighing heavily. He looked at her with deliberation in his golden eyes.

"Comayo ka roku shi?" He seemed to be asking her a question. She looked at him with guarded and slightly confused eyes, evidently not understand him one bit. He sighed again and pointed at himself, determined to get across to her.

"Shea."

She blinked. "Is your name 'Shea'?" She asked him curiously despite herself, and he nodded, his warm eyes eager, and pointed at himself again.

"Meyo Shea."

"Oh! Um...Mee-yo...Chelsea!" She said awkwardly, and turned an angry crimson as he laughed at her pitiful attempt.

"Chelsea." He let it roll off his tongue a bit roughly, and he grunted with an impish smile. "Kokowikya."

The rancher looked at the surprisingly good-natured native, and smiled half-heartedly. "You aren't bad," she articulated, and Shea looked at her with curiosity.

"...Woko mika, Chelsea...?" He asked her. She tried to make sense of his sentence with difficulty.

"I...I'm sorry I can't understand you..." she said, frustrated and irrationally upset at her inability to communicate. Shea frowned at her tone.

"Shoshuu, Chelsea..." his eyes seemed to brighten a bit suddenly, and he leaped to his feet. "Wada...!"

At that moment, the dingy door opened to reveal a slightly bent man with a huge red nose, a white strip plastered across it, and he wore a gray loincloth similar to Shea's except his was noticeable older. He carried a brown walking staff longer than Taro's and more rugged as well, and he held a small black lizard by the tail with his mouth.

"Shea..." the man greeted, his voice deep and slightly scratchy. He looked in Chelsea's direction, and he furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Shea...brought...woman...?" He seemed to be asking her. Chelsea's eyes widened in delight at his somewhat broken, yet understandable sentence. This native knew English!

"Um, I don't know why I'm here..." she explained slowly. "Shea...brought me here."

The native considered her words for a moment before turning to Shea. "Toyo mika ro ya?

"Miwa miwa..." Shea replied. "Poroku ka yomaya meiko!"

"...Shea says...he thought...you were...prey..." he said slowly. He turned to Shea and slapped him upside the head **_hard_**. Chelsea watched in surprise as the older native chewed Shea out thoroughly, and the younger native winced at every increasingly loud sentence. Finally the older native stopped, and turned back to Chelsea.

"My...name is...Wada..." he introduced. "Shea...never seen...white woman...before...Wada sorry...for this..."

"It's okay...!" Chelsea said hastily as she looked at Shea, who was rather morose-looking. "Is...he okay...?" She asked.

"Shea...feels ashamed...for hurting you..." Wada explained with a sigh. Chelsea frowned, and twiddled her thumbs awkwardly.

"I'm not angry at all...he just scared me a little, is all..." Chelsea said honestly. "And I'm sure I would've done the same thing if I was in his place..."

Wada grunted and turned to Shea, translating what she'd said to him. Shea looked up at her with a glimmer of respect in his eyes.

"Shea...sorry..." the young native said, his voice deep and smooth. Chelsea blinked, surprised at the richness of his voice when he spoke English. She fiddled with the fur beneath her, coughing awkwardly.

"Wh...what kind of fur is this...?" She asked, pointing to the fur so both natives would understand. Shea narrowed his eyes.

"Coyote..." he muttered angrily. "Weko ma hitoko no locco ma we...!"

"Shea says it is...coyote's fur...he...doesn't like coyotes...a few of them...are mad..." Wada translated. Chelsea gulped.

"...Mad...?" She repeated with unease. When animals were referred to as "mad," they usually had a fatal disease spreadable by bites, which these crazed animals were found of giving. Shea growled agressively as Wada nodded.

"Yes...we have killed...them who...are mad..." Wada said with a satisfied grunt. "Shea...is a great hunter...the tribe will glory...in...his skill..."

"Oh?" She looked at the younger native with interest, noticing he was, a bit ironically, rather attractive. "Shea is a great hunter, eh...? And...where's the rest of your tribe, then...?"

"They...circled out...for now..." Wada said with a sigh. "Be...back...in year or so..."

"Huh...? Why are you here then?" Chelsea asked. Shea turned to look at her.

"Shea wakayo mida suyo," he said with pride. Wada translated slowly.

"Shea was left here...to complete...his tribal training..." the older native explained. "I...am Shea's...teacher..." he added with a touch of pride in his voice.

"Training..." she repeated, and suddenly the native in question, without warning, grabbed her hand and tugged at it impatiently, evidently excited about something brewing in his cranium.

"Chelsea...! Shea korowa mika coyote huuka!" He exclaimed as he pulled the baffled rancher towards the exit. Wada again translated.

"Chelsea, Shea...will show...you...coyote hunt..." he said, and sat down as the boy and girl left, the latter a bit uncertainly obliging. "...Kids..." Wada said with a snort as he chewed his lizard tail.

Outside, Shea bent down to pick up a short spear, his eyes bright with excitement. "Chelsea wa coyote huuka!"

"Um, I don't think I can-" she was cut off as Shea yanked her along again, her wrist completely at his mercy. "Gak...!"

They raced along until Shea crouched down abruptly, pulling Chelsea down with force to hide behind a bush. She rubbed her wrist, and opened her mouth to protest this violent treatment, but Shea shushed her with a finger on her lips.

"Shh." He said, and looked through the bush intensely. Chelsea sighed inwardly. _Where are those sprites when you need them? This guy is like a dangerous child... _She thought miserably, but the howl of a coyote froze her thinking completely. Shea's body tensed as he sniffed the air with purpose. "Coyote dennu."

"Eh...?" Chelsea was curious, and tapped Shea on the shoulder. "What is it?"

The native grabbed her wrist. _Oh no..._

He guided her away from the bush, gently this time, and spoke in whispers. "Coyote...rara huuka..." He seemed pretty disappointed, and Chelsea had a feeling that whatever he had sensed couldn't be hunted. In lieu of a response to his disappointment, she squeezed his hand for sake of comforting, and he turned to look at her with a smile. "Chelsea..."

Something about the way he said her name made her feel embarrassed, and she snatched back her hand with force. Shea laughed that happy laugh of his and said something she couldn't understand, twirling his spear absentmindedly. Chelsea snorted. The native was making fun of her, and she knew it deep down in her bones.

She wouldn't take that lying down.

"YAH!" She tackled him before she thought twice about it, and pinned him to the ground with her knees on either side of his body. "Take that!" She teased, blowing a raspberry at him. Shea grinned, and before she knew it, she was slammed forcefully into the very same ground, Shea pinning her down expertly with an impish smirk. Chelsea pushed him off with a grumble and dusted herself off as Shea laughed some more at her expense. He picked up his spear and got up, offering her a hand. She took it begrudgingly, and he pulled her up easily. Slapping the last bit of dirty off of her body, she looked at Shea with approval.

"You're cool, for a native..." she admitted, "and you didn't eat me, so you get bonus points for that."

Shea looked at her and shrugged, not understanding, and Chelsea sighed, a bit frustrated with the language barrier between them. "If Wada can speak English, why can't you speak it as well as him?"

The native looked offended and he looked away from her with a morose expression. "Shea...speak...little."

Chelsea blinked. "So you understood that? Why haven't you at least _tried_ to communicate with me then...? Ya know, maybe the time when ya almost fatally nicked my neck?" She demanded. Shea cringed at her harsh tone and shook his head.

"Shea...speak...little..." he protested, his gold eyes pleading. "Wada try teach...but...Shea bad..."

"Oh..." Chelsea felt guilty as the native sighed despondently, now reminded of his failure. "Sorry..."

"Shea no faluko bom," he said with a sigh, and she guessed he was insulting himself.

"No, Shea, you are not a 'faluko bom,' whatever that is," she said, shaking her head as emphasis. He looked at her, his expression irriatated, and turned her back on her. Chelsea fumed, his childishaction annoying her.

"Fine! Wallow in your self-pity..." she began to walk away, not caring if she had no idea of where she was going. Shea turned guiltily to say broken words of apology, but he sniffed the air suddenly with an intense look in his eyes. "...!"

Chelsea's angry fuel had run short already, her spirit raining guilt down on her. _I shouldn't be angry...I'm the one who frustrated him... _she sighed._ I'll go say sorry..._

_**"Cheslea!" **_

The rancher flinched in surprise as Shea pushed her down, leaping in front of her as his whole body vibrated with his growling. The girl was shocked into silence as a huge gray and black coyote prowled out of the darkness in front of her, it's yellow eyes shining with age-old anger as it glared at Shea. The native was full-out snarling now, his spear held firm in his hands. The coyote growled back, its massive claws glinting menacingly as it tensed, ready to attack them both. Chelsea was speechless, and frozen with terror.

_How can coyotes get this daggone BIG...?_ She thought in horror at the sight of the monstrosity_. If only I had a gun...! _She though, clenching her fist in regret at not asking for one.

Shea interrupted her thoughts as he leaped at the monster with a snarl, and embedded his short spear directly above the creature's right eye before darting back in front of her. It let out an ungodly screech as blood began to run down its fur and seep into its eye, and bared its teeth in a vicious snarl as it growled, even greater hatred swirling in its merciless yellow eyes.

Shea made a tching sound; as much as he hated to admit it to himself, he was beat. He couldn't fight this thing bare-handed, at least, not with Chelsea at stake. With a defeated grunt he swooped Chelsea off the ground and began to run away, despite the hum of his warrior blood throbbing painfully in his veins, urging him to fight.

The beast roared furiously, evidently not going to let the two escape, and started to pursue doggedly. With a grunt of effort, he transferred Chelsea into one arm as he began to climb the nearest tree with his free hand. He ascended with amazing swiftness and was soon at the top branch, his chest rising and falling a bit faster than usual with the effort of his feat. Below, the beast still prowled, growling and snarling. Shea frowned, annoyed. They'd be in the tree for a little bit.

Chelsea, still safe in his arm, was shaking slightly, and he looked at her to check that she was unharmed. Satisfied, and after who knows how long, the native looked down to search for signs of the monster coyote, but saw nothing. With a grunt he proceeded to climb down, despite Chelsea's protesting to let her climb down herself, and soon was on the ground again. He puffed out his chest, pride evident in his posture as he looked at the sulking rancher.

"Chelsea...owe...Shea..." he pieced together, grinning mischievously. She beat at his chest hard with her fists, struggling in his arms. "Lemme go!" She growled, angry at him treating her like a small toy. He laughed at her efforts, despite wincing at her rather powerful blows to his bare chest. "Shea, I'll hurt you! Let **GO** of **ME**!"

Suddenly Shea stiffened, looking straight ahead with intensity, and Chelsea ceased her fist barrage on his chest for a moment. "What is it?"

The clicking of a gun's barrel whipped her head around, and her eyes widened as her brain registered what was happening at a dangerously fast rate.

None other than the Vaughn stood in front of them, his eyes as cold-looking as the steel gun trained on Shea's forehead. The native's heart beat a fast rhythm into Chelsea's ear as his body vibrated with his low growling, his legs tensing as he held Chelsea tighter. Vaughn narrowed his eyes, and tipped his hat down with his free left hand as he spoke with chilling practicality in his smooth, icy voice.

"Drop the girl, or I drop her for you."

* * *

_PLOT TWIST!_

_Oh yes. You better believe I'm leaving this story on a cliffy like this I'm THAT evil. MUAHAHAHA!_

_Sayonara, HarvestDragon the jerk._


	7. The Seed of Fate?

Chapter Seven

The Seed of Fate?

* * *

Chelsea was wide-eyed, her heart beating out a horrified death waltz as Vaughn's black steel pistol gleamed menacingly in the diluted forest sunlight. Shea was growling, his heart beating hard against his ribs as well, and his golden eyes were once again wild and primal as he sank into a crouched pouncing position. Vaughn's visible eye narrowed and he pressed down the trigger with his pointer finger.

"Don't move." He ordered, and Chelsea finally regained her voice.

"Vaughn?" She yelled, and he didn't flinch. "What the he-"

"Relax, rancher." He replied as his cold purple devil orbs never left Shea's untamed golden ones. "Now drop her," he used his free hand to point at Chelsea and then the ground, "or you'll be kissin' the dirt here for eternity."

"_No! _You idiot, you have it wrong!" Chelsea replied in frustration. "He isn't...!"

"Leave...Chelsea...alone...!" Shea growled, his teeth clenched tightly. Chelsea looked up to see the warrior's rage burning in his eyes as his whole body vibrated with his wild blood's roar.

"Wah! Shea, no, this is all just a-!" She tried to explain, but before she knew it her butt was smacked hard into the ground and Shea was lunging at Vaughn. "Shea! Vaughn, _don't do it!_" She screamed as Vaughn's finger began to peel away from the pressured trigger.

The cowboy's eye flitted momentarily towards her, and at that moment Shea was upon him, the native nailing him in the face as the gun went off. Her eyes went wide at the sound, and as Shea's form jerked back with a pained cry she leaped to her feet. Shea and Vaughn wrestled on the ground fiercely, both trying to gain the upper hand, and it seemed Vaughn had the advantage as Shea was smacked into the ground, his breathing unnaturally heavy. Vaughn pulled the native up by the neck with one hand, his purple eyes as close to pure ice as they could get, and gripped his gun firmly in the other. Chelsea surged foward with a scream, and smacked the cowboy across the face with as much force as she could muster. His head snapped to the side with the sheer strength of her blow, and Chelsea pushed him off of the native with an angry grunt.

"Shea...!" She looked down at him, paranoid, and to her horror blood was blossoming rapidly from his left shoulder. She felt her head for her bandanna and meet nothing but air; with a curse she ripped part of her open red shirt off and wrapped it around the wound as well as she could. "Daggone!"

She glared murderously at the cowboy, who was rising to a sitting position with a grunt as he held his left cheek. As soon as he made eye contact with her, she erupted with all of her anger.

"_The hell's wrong with you?" _She demanded, her blue eyes ablaze. "_You could've killed him!" _Her hands were clenching and unclenching with her rage.

Vaughn was speechless as the girl screamed at him with a fiery fury. What in blazes did he do wrong?

"Idiot idiot idiot! Shea did nothing to you! _Nothing! _And what do you do?_ You put a freakin' bullet in his shoulder_!" She continued, a vein throbbing in her neck. "You almost killed him! Heck, maybe he's dying _right now!_"

"He attacked me," Vaughn answered, his voice cool. "Was I supposed to let him rip my throat out?"

"You pulled out a _gun _on him!" She yelled. "I would attack someone if they threatened me like that, much less a warrior native...!" She pressed down on Shea's wound as the boy moaned, sweat beading on his face. "You're _an idiot!" _She said vehemently for the second time.

"What was I supposed to think when I saw you struggling in his arms?" Vaughn asked. "Natives aren't the friendliest people in the West, _rancher girl._" He sounded exasperated, annoyed and just a bit confused.

"Did he _look _like he was roasting me or chanting some tribal curses upon me? _Well?" _She asked with venom. "You just pulled out a freakin' gun out of **_nowhere!" _**And how the heck did you find me anyhow? How did you know I was here?"

Vaughn was unsure on how to answer those last questions. Somehow, he knew that saying that _a strange and very feminine voice whispered your name into my ear repeatedly,_ wouldn't go over very well with her.

"Does it matter?" He settled for instead. "I try to save you, and all I get is a smack in the face?" He added with coolness, still rather baffled underneath his cold exterior.

"I didn't need your so-called _help! _Oh Harvest _goddess I **hate **you!" _She hissed, her throat constricting as Shea's breath became more ragged. She tried to fight down her turbulent emotions. "You're a stuck-up egocentric **_bastard_**...!" She hissed through her teeth, her voice barely fighting off her hysteria.

The cowboy was stunned into silence as Chelsea turned her thoughts to the weakened native in front of her with worry, her blue eyes glazed over as Shea breathed heavily. His clouded gold eyes opened slowly, and the two looked at each other for a few moments. She heard the rustle of leaves, but it hardly registered in her mind.

"Shea." She flicked a strand of hair off of his forehead in a seemingly absentminded manner, but the small tremors in her hands said otherwise. "Shea, can you hear me?"

"...Chelsea." The native responded rather breathlessly, and grimaced in pain. "Chelsea's...mate...tough..."

"Huh? Wh-what are you saying?" She asked, confused, before her eyes widened in disgusted shock. "Oh. Oh no no...you don't actually think that I'm his...!"

She cut off as Shea's eyes closed, and her heart began to beat louder with horror. "Shea? No, Shea, you have to stay awake. Shea...Shea!"

No answer came, and she took in a shaky breath. "I can't go get help; I can't leave him here unprotected!"

Chelsea took off her ruined jacket and wrapped it around the soiled make-shift bandage, pressing down on the wound lightly. "This is the best I can do for now..." she breathed, her voice uncharacteristically quiet.

The cold breeze of the forest chilled her as she tried to think of happy things. "Shea will be alright...he has to be..." she muttered to herself, wishing she had brought Lazy Bones with her. "He's probably still waiting like a good, lazy horse..."

Suddenly the cowboy crossed her mind, and she furrowed her brow as she looked around and saw no sign of him. _Where did he go anyhow...? Hopefully he crawled in some hole to die in..._

Chelsea felt she'd been alone for a while, the only sound being the rustling of leaves and Shea's increasingly ragged breathing. She felt helpless and reached to rip off part of her orange tank top, wrapping up his shoulder once more with new linen. _Will anyone come...? _She thought, looking despairingly at Shea's still form.

The sound of footsteps made her turn, and to her immense relief and joy there stood Felicia and Mirabelle, the former carrying a basket and the latter towing a dark horse that looked quite familiar.

"M-Ms. Fleece...!" Chelsea stammered, her eyes pooling slightly. "Mirabelle!"

"It's alright Chelsea, we'll take it from here," Mirabelle said with a smile, hugging the rancher girl with a motherly warmth.

"Alright then, let me see..." Felicia knelt by Shea and peeled off the crude bandage carefully, and thoroughly examined the wound with intensity. She clucked her tongue, her usual ever-present smile replaced with a worried line. "It's not pretty..." she admitted, wringing her delicate hands. "We need to take him somewhere comfortable...we have to go back to town immediately."

"Grab his legs and I'll get his torso." Mirabelle said to Chelsea, who immediately obeyed. With grunts of effort, they eased the native into the saddle with no problem. The rancher drew back to look at the horse, and it snorted softly, staring at her with those soulful dark eyes. She gasped in recognition and disbelief.

"Frost?" She exclaimed. "You're...**_his_** horse!" Chelsea protested. Mirabelle perked at this.

"Ah, yes, this is Frost...Vaughn let me borrow him. He was in quite the rush, and I thought it odd since Vaughn hates it when people use his horse...but enough of that, this young man needs to get back to town as soon as possible!" Mirabelle tugged Frost along, and looked at Chelsea meaningfully. "And then, Chelsea, _some people_ need to have a long and meaningful talk with you."

Chelsea gulped. She guessed that her carefree actions were going to get her into some serious lecturing. With a sigh she looked at Shea's still form, his breath still ragged as he inhaled and exhaled with effort.

_You better be all right...Shea..._

* * *

When they had gotten back to town Shea had been taken to the Animal Barn immediately, and Chelsea naturally tagged along. Julia had greeted them and led them to a room in the back, with a few chairs and a soft-looking bed. Shea had been laid down on them with carefulness, and not soon after, Taro and the pink -haired siblings were barging in loudly. Felicia quietly tended to Shea's wounds as the trio bombarded the rancher with their loud speaking.

"Ch-Chelsea! I'm so glad you're alright, I was really w-w-worried for you when you weren't in town t-t-today...!" Elliot stammered with a blush on his face, fiddling with his glasses. "Th-thank the goddess..."

"You are...a...a..." Natalie began with a growl, her arms crossed as she glared daggers at Chelsea.

"A _moron!" _Taro finished with a boom. "You fixed a bridge that leads to who knows where, and you don't hesitate to cross it without _telling a soul?" _He asked incredulously, jabbing his stick at her menacingly. She shook her head with a gulp as she backed up.

"Well, um...I...was excited..." she admitted quietly, and turned to look at Shea with a sigh. "I really wanted to look so I took off...look where that got me..."

Taro frowned, looking at the deep-sleeping boy with intensity. "I see. So, who is this person? Never seen him in my time here..." the old man admitted as he stroked his goatee.

"Shea. He lives in the forest with his teacher Wada..." Chelsea explained. "He thought I was food, and he can't understand me very well, but...he's fun to be around. And then..."

She cut off as the cowboy's face floated into her mind, and the frightening frigidness of those demon eyes. "He got hurt."

Natalie shuffled foward awkwardly and cleared her throat. "Cheer up. He'll be fine with Mom taking care of him..." she said gruffly, patting her shoulder stiffly. Chelsea smiled at the girl's rough attempt at compassion, and engulfed the tomboy in a heartfelt hug. "Thanks..."

"Gah! Let go off me, you weirdo!" Natalie wiggled out of her grip, her cheeks red. "Hmph..." she ignored the grin her brother was wearing and turned her back on them all with a toss of her hair.

Taro cleared his throat, diverting the attention away from Natalie. "Well, I was going to tell you this morning that we have new additions for our humble home," he said with a stroke of his goatee. "The very merchants that supply you with seeds through me were transported here by Vaughn," Chelsea stiffened slightly, "since their original transportation broke down. They've settled in for the day, so you can meet them tomorrow..."

"...Okay..." she said with a nod, and looked towards the front of the shop. Suddenly she felt very constricted inside the small bedroom and wanted nothing more but to see the sky. "Um. I excuse me but... I need some...fresh air...real fast..."

The rancher pushed past the trio with mutters of apology and walked out of the shop, the setting sun's beauty immediately refreshing her mind. She leaned against the side of the shop and sighed with an exhausted air about her.

"I feel like it's been forever...when it's only been a long, long day..." she closed her eyes, soaking in the dying rays.

"Ah! I was hoping to find you here!" Julia exclaimed out of nowhere as the blonde walked to Chelsea's side, her blond hair up in its high ponytail. Her blue jeans, tucked into blue boots, were spotless, but her short-sleeved blue plaid shirt was a bit dusty. "I heard what happened..."

"All of it?" Chelsea asked, and Julia chewed her lip.

"Well, Vaughn wasn't in a good mood at all when he came barging in for help," Julia sighed, running a hand through her flaxen locks. "He's ill-tempered, but he looked like his horse had been shot by a bandit. I was really worried...he looked like he'd been in a bad fight or something. His clothes were scuffed, and his face had a couple small marks and one big bruise that ran," Julia swiped her fingers over her left cheek, "all along here, and it was blue and purple and black..."

Chelsea flinched at that, remembering the hit she had delivered him in her utter rage and desperation. Had it been that brutal of a blow?

"He was talking to Mirabelle, and saying how he needed Felicia to come with her...I didn't catch all of it, but he said you needed help...and then he and Mirabelle spoke too low, so I couldn't hear the rest..." Julia turned to the rancher. "What happened today, Chelsea?"

The girl was silent for a long moment before speaking. "Vaughn...he shot a native boy." She said quietly. "And that giant bruise on his cheek? That's my workmanship." And with that, the rancher fled, running for the comfort of her home. She wanted to see her loving animals, wanted to forget today, wanted to forget Shea on that white bed, in the deep reaches of unconsciousness...she wanted to forget that demon, the bruise that Julia had described that marred his cheek...

She dashed into the stable, and to her relief there stood Lazy Bones, who nuzzled her with enthusiastic neighs as she hugged her neck tightly. "Good to see you made it back...eh?"

She pulled back to see her red bandanna tied around his neck, and she pulled it free. "My bandanna...! But...how...? I dropped it in the forest somewhere...!"

_The only person who could've found it...and return Lazy Bones as well...has to be..._

Chelsea turned to look behind her warily, and those cold demon eyes seemed to assess her even in her mind's eye as she thought about it with care.

"...Vaughn?" she asked herself out loud as she stares at the fabric in her hands, her thoughts whirling around in a circle. She gripped the fabric tighter, her eyes shadowed as she muttered to herself.

"You make no sense, devil."

* * *

Vaughn gazed at the river, its waters dark and turbulent not unlike his mood. He raised a gloved hand to his left cheek and stroked across the bruise with his fingertips, his eyes cold. The moon rose steadily, and he muttered to himself.

"The moon is rising on a new night," he murmured, as the howl of a wild coyote sounded close to him. "That time again already, then..." he pushed his hair back with one hand, his bruise throbbing painfully as a personal and constant reminder of the rancher's existence.

Suddenly his head jerked up, and he looked behind him into the shadows. "Come on out." He said with a strange calm. "I know you're there."

A coyote-like creature brazenly approached him as it slunk out of the shadows, it's teeth curved in a somewhat doggish grin. It looked, in fact, more dog-like at second glance, with it's gray and white lustrous coat and dark yellow eyes. The hybrid barked at him in a playful manner, and he reached out to stroke its ears as his lips curved up the slightest bit. The moon illuminated his face in a lovely manner, his usually hardened features softened handsomely as his cold purple eyes thawed a bit.

"You again, huh puppy...?"

* * *

_AN: And that's a snack wrap! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and this was all necessary to set up for the much longer chapters coming later in this story! So yes, these chapters were rather short, but we will be getting longer from here on out! Who knows when the next chapter will come...hopefully soon, kesesesese! _

_Beta'd by Tempest_

_Sayonara,_

_HarvestDragon_


	8. Sparkling Jewels

Chapter Eight

Sparkling Jewels

_AN: Aloha...HarvestDragon here. I present to you the new chapter! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and it should be somewhat refreshing from the overdose of drama you experienced last time..._

_Sent from Canada. :3_

* * *

Chelsea tossed and turned on her bed, her forehead drenched in sweat as she muttered in a nonsensical manner. "Mh...hey...why are you...leaving me again...cucumbers...I'm alone again...don't want to eat them..."

With a bright flash of light, the red sprite Coral appeared on her forehead, which was slick with her sweat, his face extremely ecstatic at his apparent accomplishment.

"I finally got through...! Chelsea!" He exclaimed quite loudly, causing the girl to jolt awake suddenly and roll out of bed with a yelp, kissing the hardwood floor with her face. "Um. Oops." Coral whispered as the girl's frame trembled with sheer agony.

"_Goddess_!" Chelsea yelled, although the floor muffled her cry. "Ouch...!" She held her nose and sat up with a sigh, her brown hair disheveled comically, and wiped her forehead with her free hand. "What a way to wake up..." she said quite nasally, her face pulled into a sour grimace.

Coral decided this would be a good time to say something. "Chelsea! I'm back!" He said happily, and the rancher turned to him in shock, her tired eyes widening as she peered at him in disbelief. She wondered if she was hallucinating for a moment before it all hit her at once.

"Coral?" She exclaimed, her tone a mix of pleasant surprise and confusion. "What happened to y-"

"Ch-Chelsea, I am glad to see you, I am! I tried to get here from the sprite realm, but something was blocking my sprite magic...! I'm such an awful guardian sprite; I don't deserve to live, I should be stripped of my title and name...!" Coral interrupted her, quickly falling into hysterics. Chelsea blanched and began to pat his head soothingly, trying to comfort the sobbing sprite.

"It's fine Coral...I'm glad you weren't there yesterday..." her voice dropped, becoming more solemn. The sprite noticed the change in her voice, and stopped his crying so he could look at her with clear eyes.

"What happened, Chelsea?" He asked quietly, and the rancher took a deep breath, trying to collect her flying thoughts.

She told him every detail, from her meeting the natives, to Shea getting shot, and to her verbal and physical abuse of Vaughn. The sprite listened quietly, and when she was finished, he looked at her for a long while with an extremely thoughtful glint in his eyes.

"Is he alright?" Coral finally asked, and Chelsea blinked.

"He was unconscious and bleeding badly...but Natalie and everyone else told me he'd be fine," Chelsea replied quietly, wiggling her toes as she ran her fingers through the bird nest's mess of her hair. "I was going to go visit him and tell Wada what happened..."

Coral shook his head at her, as she turned her back to him and stood up, and crossed his arms. "That's not who I was referring to..." he murmured under his breath as the cowboy's face loomed in his mind. _I wonder..._

Chelsea's eyes suddenly became steely with resolve. "Moping around here won't get me anywhere. I need to clear my mind of all this crap." And with that she went about hurriedly, as she prepared herself for another day of hard work.

* * *

After she had bathed in her private part of the river, she dressed herself in her signature orange undershirt, a pair a of clean dark blue jeans and her dusty red cowgirl boots as well as tying her bandanna around her head per usual. She groomed and milked a testy Pepper, collected her daily egg from Yellow, and after brushing out every particle of dirt in Lazy Bones' fur she set about to watering her plants thoroughly. As she sprinkled the turnips with moisture, thoughts of the cowboy sprung unwanted and unbidden, into her mind. She shook her head, growling at the mental image of his face, smug and arrogant. But then his face lost its arrogance, and a large bruise bloomed across his cheek, its ugliness a stark contrast to his skin. She frowned at the sight of it and turned away from the image, only to hear her own voice.

_**Idiot**...!_

_You put a bullet in his shoulder...!_

_Egocentric bastard...!_

_I **hate** you...!_

The rancher shook her head. "_Gah_! Shut up! He deserved it...he shot Shea..." she mumbled, and blinked with horrified realization. _Oh goddess...this feeling is... is this guilt...? _She thought, her eyes widening in disbelief. She shook her head so violently she was sure it would snap right off of her neck, chasing all of Vaughn-centric thoughts out of her head. "There's no way that this could be guilt. Nope, it's definitely not...probably just indigestion."

Even so, as she repeated that to herself over and over, she knew deep inside that she didn't buy that excuse for one second; and neither did Coral as he watched her with a concerned expression on his face.

After she had finished taking care of watering the rest of the plants and pulling the dry and tenacious weeds poking out of the dirt, she hauled Lazy Bones out of his stable and hopped on him with an air of urgency. Coral sat on her shoulder looking quite comfortable as she whipped the reins, spurring Lazy Bones into a brisk trot. Chelsea cleared her throat, and the red sprite shot her a questioning glance.

"Erm, if you're finally here...where are the others?" Chelsea asked, her tone curious, and turned her horse towards the Animal Barn. Coral frowned unhappily as he twiddled his tiny fingers in an idle manner.

"I...don't know where they are," he admitted with a sniff. "I haven't been without them ever...it's so lonely without Pride's arrogant chatter...and Sober's up-tightness..." he wiped away a miniscule tear with his finger as he clutched the fabric on her shoulder in his hands. Chelsea frowned at this piece of unhappy news, and they rode in a solemn silence until she was in front of the Animal Barn. Dismounting with a jump, she walked up to the closed front door and knocked. She waited for a minute, and raised her eyebrows as she knocked again.

Nothing.

"I guess they're not here," Coral said with a sigh, and blanched as Chelsea reached for the knob. "Hey, don't tell me that your gonna actually break in...?" He protested as she turned it slowly.

"It's not breaking in if the door's open..." she said with a sly smile as she opened the door, and slipped in like a shifty rattlesnake. Coral shook his head with a whine of displeasure as she tip-toed across the dark Animal Shop, her steps as silent as possible. She crept over to the door where Shea was resting, and opened the door slightly so she could peer through the crack. She saw Shea lying there, breathing quite evenly, but the shadow over him made her do a silent double-take.

"Listen, native..."

Chelsea's went white at the sound of Vaughn's voice, and she opened the door just a tad more to see him standing by Shea's bedside with a white cloth in his gloved hands. _What the heck is he doing here...on a Friday no less! _She thought, her heart beating in a spastic manner as Coral whispered to her urgently.

"What is it, Chelsea?" He said as he tugged on her sleeve with all of his pathetically small might. "Hey, are you listening?" He asked as she blinked rather slowly, her expression somewhat dopey.

"...Demon..." she answered under her breath, and peaked through the crack to see him mopping Shea's sweaty forehead with the cloth. "What is he playing at...?" She said suspiciously.

"...I'm not the best...person to converse with, see." Vaughn sighed, tipping his hat down over his eyes with a sort of melancholy air about him. The rancher resisted the urge to snort at this.

_No dip, cowboy_, Chelsea thought sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

"And I...when I saw you with her I-just jumped to conclusions...and when you attacked me, I guess that was my fault-since I scared you n' all..." he continued, his usually cold eyes almost human-like with that lost look in his gaze. Chelsea bit her lip as Coral's mouth started to stretch into a knowing smile.

"So I...I'm sorry about the...bullet in your shoulder..." he trailed off awkwardly, his cheeks a bit red. "Goddess, I just ain't good with this...apology stuff-"

The native stirred a little, and Vaughn stiffened as Shea sleepily opened his eyes. As his drowsy gold eyes met Vaughn's purple ones, they held each others gazes for a fraction of a second, before Shea yawned and turned on his side with a smile as his eyes fluttered closed again. The cowboy sighed with something akin to relief and glanced at the white bandage wrapped around Shea's left shoulder, and guilt flashed in his eyes.

"I...I'll make it up...to you somehow..." Vaughn grunted, and he pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed. "I swear on my Stetson."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Chelsea tried to process the extremely awkward kindness Vaughn had displayed. Coral crossed his arms and looked at her with a raised brow.

"He isn't _such _a bad guy..." he said as he shrugged his tiny shoulders with a smile. "He sounds like a decent person..."

Chelsea set her jaw stubbornly, and shook her head with a grunt of annoyance at the guilt building a tower inside of her spirit. "He's so rude and arrogant though...maybe he's nice to certain people, but as far as he's concerned, I'm horse dung."

Coral face-palmed with a shake of his small head, his eyes squeezed shut in frustration. "You're almost as unmovable as Pride when it comes to your thinking..."

"Hey, that was low!" Chelsea exclaimed, and then slapped her hands over her mouth as Vaughn's head popped up like a jack-in-the-box.

"...that sounds like..." the cowboy stood up with narrowed eyes, and Chelsea resisted the urge to squeak as she scrambled to her feet with the agility of a mouse. _Dear **goddess**, I'm an idiot...!_

Keeping low to the ground she tiptoed quickly towards the door as her heart pounded violently within her chest, his staccato footsteps pounding inside her head loudly. As she flung open the door he came around the corner, only to see a figure dashing away from the Shop as fast as they could. Vaughn frowned as he watched them disappear around a building corner, and looked down to see an extremely familiar object resting at his feet.

* * *

"Ch...Chelsea...?" Coral patted the rancher's cheek inquisitively as she hugged her knees to her chest despondently. "Wh...what's wrong?" The girl had been surrounded by a moody aura since a little after their escape from the Shop, plopping herself down on the ground by Taro's house, and to be honest the red sprite was growing quite worried for her.

"I lost my bandanna...!" She wailed suddenly, making the sprite tumble off her shoulder in surprise. Coral cleared his throat with a attention-grabbing purposefulness. "Well, that isn't so bad, since everyone knows it has to be yours, so someone will find it...!" Coral tried to soothe her, and she shook her head violently.

"Coral. I lost it when I ran away." Chelsea said with an eerie calm. "Do you realize what that means?" She fixed Coral with a disturbingly vapid and calm gaze.

"...Um, I-"

"It means that he has it."

"Well, that's no big de-"

"Which means, he knows I was there, spying on him."

"...Oh." Was all the meek little sprite could say before the door of Taro's house flung open, revealing an extremely agitated grandfather, his bushy white brows jumping all over the place.

"_Chelsea** Moon**_!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs, and the rancher's mouth popped open like a fish as he spotted her. "What in blazes do ya think yer doing?"

"Um, I-"

"I can't believe you forgot something so daggone **_important_**!" He barked at her. "This is no way to impress new residents, by blowing them off **_twice_**!"

Chelsea looked at him blankly before smacking her palm against her forehead. "Oh! I completely forgot about them...!" She exclaimed with a groan, feeling absolutely retarded at this point. Taro jabbed his stick at her, his wrinkled face contorted in rage.

"Well don't just smack your head like a dunce, and come along already, you imbecile!" the old man growled as he grabbed her wrist with a worn-looking hand made of solid steel. Chelsea winced as he dragged her like that half across the town, before stopping in front of a dingy hut-like building made of brittle wood that looked like it would turn to dust at any moment. The rancher turned to Taro with a flabbergasted expression, and he cocked a bushy white eyebrow in response.

"You call giving them a daggone shack a 'good impression?'" Chelsea asked in disbelief, and he shrugged.

"The more money you bring in, the more expenses we can splurge on decent houses," Taro said gruffly, and Chelsea grunted at the low blow, somewhat embarrassed, as he rapped on the old and dingy door with his walking stick. There was an instant response, with excited ramblings and the clattering of falling objects as the door was flung open by a little boy Chelsea recognized instantly.

"Lady!" the dark-haired boy cried excitedly, and glomped the rancher with a strength that didn't match his size. "How's the horse I gave ya! He's a dream, ain't he lady?"

"Oh, you're the kiddo who gave me Lazy Bones, aren't you...?" Chelsea said, her confused expression giving way for a fond smile. "I really appreciated that..."

"You renamed my Dust Thunder into_ Lazy Bones?" _the boy asked, and curled his lip dispassionately at the farmer. "How lame!"

"Hey! He is a lazy-boned horse!" Chelsea defended herself, blushing a bit at her spur-of-the-moment name. The boy sighed, and shook his head in defeat.

"Where is he?" he asked, and Chelsea paled._ I left that stupid horse by the Animal Shop..._! She thought, fervently hoping the animal had had the sense to run for every dime he was worth. She plastered a large and fake smile onto her face and lied through her teeth.

"He's resting..." she said, and patted his head. "Yep, that's definitely what he's doing right now..."

"But he's right behind you!" He laughed as the rancher's back was nudged by a moist nose. Chelsea trembled with relief as she leaned against the brown horse.

"Dear goddess, Lazy Bon...I mean, Dust Thunder..." she corrected herself, and the animal snorted with approval at the new name. The boy giggled, and stuck out his hand with a large grin.

"Charlie Masters at your service!" He introduced himself as Chelsea shook his strong hand. At this time Taro decided to step in.

"Where's yer father, boy?" He asked bluntly, and Charlie chewed his cheek thoughtfully.

"Out foraging, he said." Charlie answered. "I could tell by his tone that he ain't coming back home anytime soon."

"Well, he is a full-blooded merchant, that Chen..." Taro turned to Chelsea abruptly, and cleared his throat. "Well, you can skedaddle now," the old man said finally, and then turned to Charlie. "I have work for you, boy."

"Sweet! I'll see you later, lady!" Charlie exclaimed, waving at her excitedly before following after Taro. Chelsea smiled, and shrugged.

"Well, isn't he full of energy," Coral stated once they were alone, and Chelsea agreed with a nod.

"He's a good kid," she said, and rubbed Dust Thunder's nose with affectionate pats as the horse brayed at her good-naturedly. "Real blunt and honest, and he's way too strong for his age..."

Coral hummed thoughtfully. "I wonder what his father's like then..." the sprite wondered aloud. Chelsea shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'll find out sooner or later," she said with a grin, and then lapsed into a sulky sort of silence as she clambered onto her horse. "My bandanna..."

Coral sighed, and silently prayed to the Harvest Goddess that the rancher would just survive the embarrassment of her predicament.

* * *

The day was soon at an end, and the rancher was heading home with a white calf in tow, who was licking her chops docilely, and a fluffy yellow chick with red streak in its feathers. The rancher had stopped by the Animal Barn and had purchased the animals from Julia, who was oddly quiet and didn't make much attempt at conversation. Chelsea saw no head nor tail of the demon cowboy, and she felt super conscious of her missing headpiece as she walked through town with her livestock and poultry. She led the little white calf, newly dubbed Salt, over to the moody black cow Pepper; and went over to the chicken coop to introduce the streaked chick, named Red, to Yellow the chicken. With a sigh of utter exhaustion Chelsea half-crawled into her abode, her blue eyes hollow and empty, and kicked off her red boots and whipped off her red top. With a groan she heaved herself into her bed, and snuggled her face into the pillow tiredly before she began to drift.

"Chelsea?" A voice called as a rap sounded on the door, and Chelsea jolted upright, her face distorted demonically as she growled at the disturbance.

"Come in," she shouted, and the door opened to reveal Denny standing there awkwardly as he rubbed the tension at the back of his neck. "Denny? The heck do you need at this daggone time of night?" She asked bad-temperately, and Denny cleared his throat as Poppers flapped his tiny wings.

"It's only nine o' clock, Chels," he said rather bashfully, and the rancher blushed furiously at this fact.

"...Oh." She fiddled with her blanket idly. "...Was there something you needed?"

"Yeah. I heard what happened, and I didn't see you around town, so I decided to visit you." Denny grinned sheepishly, and set a platter of chocolate cookies by her bedside. "This is your treat from me, so don't get too fat off of them, 'kay kiddo?"

Poppers imitated his master with a caw. "'Kay kiddo, 'kay kiddo?"

"Ha! Me, get fat? With all the daggone work I have to do? You have got to be crazy," Chelsea rolled her eyes at the fisherman, and Denny chuckled at her sharp tongue.

"Well, then..." Denny's tanned face seemed to flush red, and he cleared his throat again. "I'm glad you're alright, Chels. I really am."

Chelsea rubbed her arm as her cheeks went pink, clearly embarrassed at his show of genuine concern for her well-being. "Thanks for dropping by, Denny," Chelsea replied softly, her blue eyes filled with gratefulness. "You're a great guy."

Denny's face was now a nice rose red color, and he smiled brightly at the rancher. "That's what friends are for, eh?" He replied as he turned to leave. Before he closed the door he looked back over his shoulder. "Good night, Chels." And the door closed with a soft thud. Chelsea's face was brightened by a large smile as she reached over to grab a cookie. "Thanks, Denny..." she said quietly with a sigh before she chowed down on her treat.

* * *

"Chelsea, wake up! Come on!" Coral tugged on the rancher's shirt as hard as he could, and she stirred sleepily as he pulled with all his might. "You forgot to tell Wada about Shea! You have to go today!"

At this fact Chelsea's eyes snapped open, and she sat up too quickly as her head spun like a top. "Crap," she gurgled, and stepped into her boots with a sigh. Coral noticed the negative emotions swirling in her blue eyes but decided not to push it.

She went out to the stable and saw Dust Thunder was still asleep, and with a sigh began to trudge towards the west bridge. Her head seemed to be whirring at miles a minute, and her thoughts were not so bright.

_I had that stupid dream again, eh? _She thought with a ill-humored smirk, sine sighed. _Guess you can't quite escape the past after all._

The rancher shook her head with a rueful grin. _That woman left a stain that won't come off with just good ol' water n' soap...I guess she won in that respect._

As she thought on these things, the more she drifted further into her unwanted memories as the sun beat on her bare chestnut hair.

_"You're such a useless girl. You can't even act like a proper lady!"_

_"Mama, I made you a mud pie, like the cakes we used to eat. Don't you like it?"_

_"Are you leaving me alone again...with those rotten vegetables to eat?"_

_"I don't want to be left alone anymore...!"_

"Chelsea!"

The rancher was brought back to reality by Coral's voice in her ear, and she realized she was shaking a little. She cleared her throat as she saw the bridge in sight, and the sprite glanced at her with glazed and worried eyes.

"Let's go, then." She stated simply, and with that she and Coral walked across the bridge into the darkened forest. Coral fidgeted as the howl of a coyote sounded somewhere in the distance, and glanced at Chelsea's stoic face.

"How are we going to find this Wada...?" He asked, and at that moment a screech sounded behind them. Chelsea turned to see Wada behind her, holding a coyote by it's bloody scruff as he looked at her with expectant eyes. The rancher opened her mouth to speak but the older native held up a hand.

"Shea...is better?" Wada asked, and she nodded once. The wild man chewed on his lizard tail slowly, and spoke even slower.

"You...take care of Shea...okay?" Wada pleaded, shaking her hand firmly with his free one. "He is like...my son..."

Chelsea bit her lip, and shook his hand back. "I promise," she said quietly, and her hair fell untamed across her face as she exhaled slowly with forest casting shadows on her skin. "I'll bring him back."

* * *

The long nose of a snobbish gentleman pointed up in the air, a carefully combed mustache adorning it. The man this nose belonged to was just as long and cautiously clothed in a red and black suit with a fancy cape around his shoulders. His greying hair was styled into two Dracula-like points, and his narrowed black eyes were lit with a forever bemused light as he examined a diamond in his hands. He sat in a fancy velvet and golden chair with a gold-plated table in front of him, and a young and fancy brunette butler with green eyes stood by his side. His room was white with golden lining all around, and bookshelves lined with countless pieces of jewels, mostly shining gold and polished diamonds, were all around the fancy room. A large window adorned with red velvet drapes shone brightly with sunlight, setting the jewels and precious metals aglow as well as the good-plated double door.

"Ah...business is lowering a bit, isn't it Romano?" The elegant man asked the butler, and the servant nodded.

"Yes, Master Regis," the butler said respectfully, and Regis hummed thoughtfully for a moment, the diamond glinting in his hand.

"Bring in my nephew, if you may," Regis ordered, and the butler bowed deeply.

"Yes sir," Romano said, and exited the room swiftly. Regis smirked to himself as he rubbed the smooth diamond with his thumb until the doors opened, revealing an impossibly handsome young man with silk-like flaxen hair and cerulean blue eyes that were just as brilliant as the diamonds in the room. He was dressed in a white suit with a red rose tucked in the breast pocket, and his black shoes were polished to perfection. He smiled politely, his lids lowered in a questioning manner.

"Uncle? What do you require of me?" He asked with that ever-present smile, and Regis grunted and smirked as he rubbed the diamond like a pet.

"Please, if you will, William, start searching for a new potential mining location," he said with a grin. "I think we'll be on the move again quite soon."

* * *

_AN: Oh My Gawwwsh, I am finally done, despite freakin' auto correct and my brother attempting to ruin my life. I had to type this on an iPod, and I'm finally done...ugh._

_Beta'd by Tempest Bound. Check her out! ;3_


	9. White Flag

Chapter Nine

White Flag

* * *

_"Hey, Papa!"_

_A little girl, endowed with long and wild chestnut hair and bright blue eyes like a river, hiked up her fancy blue and white dress and dashed towards a man with brown hair streaked with the grays of age. He seemed to possess the sparkle of eternal youth in his dark green eyes as he tilled the stubborn dry earth with a large hoe, a sheen of sweat on his brow. He turned just in time to have the girl headbutt him in the stomach, and chuckled affectionately as she tried to wrap her tiny arms around his middle. She tugged at the yellow bandanna around his neck, and he ruffled her hair._

_"Chelsea, aren't you supposed to be with your mama...? I'm mighty busy...with the fields needin' retillin;" The man said gently, and the girl clutched at her pretty dress as her blue eyes glazed over. He frowned as he put down his hoe to listen to her._

_"Mama...she doesn't like me." She said quietly, blinking back her tears. "Mama says I'm a no-good wild native girl...she doesn't think I'm pretty, and I-I wanted to be as pretty as Mama..." Chelsea's breath hitched as she rubbed her eyes with her fists. _

_The man kneeled down to look his hiccuping daughter in the eyes, and she listened attentively as he told her something she would never forget._

_"You don't have to be what others think you should be. You just have to be yourself, Chelsea..."_

_He paused, and looked away from her at the unforgiving western sun for what seemed to be a long while._

_"That's one way to find...where real happiness comes from."_

* * *

Chelsea jolted awake, her breathing heavy, and felt her face only to find sweat mixed with a few bitter tears. With a curse she wiped them away and hopped off the bed into her boots, grumbling all the while. As she put her shirt on her blue eyes were incredibly downcast and dim, lacking any sort of positivity.

"What the heck...I haven't had that dream...for so long..." she muttered to herself, and decided forgetting about it would be the best thing at this point. "Papa..." she couldn't help murmuring, and shook her head with a sigh.

_Forget about it_.

As she exited her house with her steel watering can in hand, her thoughts drifted to Shea and how he had finally opened his eyes yesterday. It had been three days since the native had been injured, and Chelsea was incredibly relieved to hear from Felicia that he would be alright. Although the bullet wound was deep, it fortunately hadn't embedded itself into his muscules, and Felicia had reassured the rancher that within a month it would be like the wound was never there...minus the permanent scar of course.

She had met Charlie's father Chen, who always seemed to be in the mood to sell something, but was a gentle man at heart and expressed his pride over his son frequently. Chelsea had decided that she respected him, merchant or not.

And then there was her bandanna to worry about.

Chelsea felt naked and exposed without it, and she felt extremely unlike herself and vunerable._ That bandanna is a precious gift from someone I used to know...who knows what he would do with it..._ Chelsea thought, although she half-admitted her anger was baseless._  
_

As she watered her newly sowed tomatoes, celebrating the first days of a summer that was sure to be blazing hot, a blinding light rendered her eyes useless for a moment before she blinked the colored dots in her vision away. Standing at her feet with expressions of delight were Pride, Sober, Coral and a dark blue sprite she'd never seen before.

"Hey, scrawny girl!" Pride greeted her with a cheeky grin, and was instantly toed in the rear by one of her boots. "Ouch!"

"I found them, Chelsea!" Coral exclaimed as the rancher bent down to smile at all of them with a strange sort of relief on her face. "And I found another sprite as well...I haven't seen him in so long...!"

"It's great to see you again, Chosen," Sober commented with a bow. "I have calculations to catch up on, I presume? I shall go at once and manage your bank account." And with that the serious sprite headed off towards her house despite her weak protests. The dark blue sprite cleared his throat and beamed at her, his expression upbeat and cheery.

"My name's Klutz!" He introduced himself a bit bashfully, and slipped at that moment in a rather cliche manner. "Ack!" He quickly scrambled to his feet as Pride shook his head at him.

"He's the no-good-I-destroy-whatever-I-touch type," Pride said with a superior snort, and Klutz glared at the light blue sprite with annoyance brimming in his black eyes.

"At least I'm not the I'm-so-arrogant-no-one-can-stand-me type," Klutz shot back, and Chelsea had to laugh out loud at the sour expression on Pride's face. Klutz turned to beam at her as she held up a hand to high-five him, and he returned the friendly action with glee.

"I think we'll get along just fine," Chelsea chuckled as Pride glared at them both, and Coral watched the exchange with a happy smile, extremely glad that the ominous darkness in the rancher's eyes had dissapated into her usual tough and tomboyish gleam. "How about we go around town with you, Klutz? I have errands to run anyways...like shipping..."

* * *

"William, are you quite alright...?"

The handsome boy jolted back into reality and whipped his head around to see a lovely girl with a petite stature, her large purple eyes a startling contrast to her pale skin. She wore a fancy and ruffle-filled violet and white dress, and her silky curled black hair was pulled into a high pigtail held up by a violet silk bow. Her pink lips were turned up into a nervous smile, and her posture was severely lacking in confidence. She stood in the doorway of the darkened room as he sat in a plush velvet chair positioned behind a dark wooden desk, the window letting the pale moonlight illuminate her face.

"Oh, Sabrina..." he sighed as he looked at her with a half-hearted smile that seemed to sparkle even in the inky darkness. "I simply am in quite the dilemma, my dearest cousin...I have always had trouble with business choices." He looked out the window at the moon in a wistful manner.

"Business choices?" She repeated as she glided inside the room. William nodded grimly as he crossed his legs with a sigh.

"Uncle Regis has entrusted me to picking out a new business location," he explained, "but I am simply baffled on where we could expand to. Your father has dominated nearly every potential gem and precious metal mine that have been uncovered, so where could we possibly find a place that will rejunavate his business...?"

Sabrina was quiet for a moment, her lids lowered as she stroked her chin, before pulling rather wide-rimmed silver glasses out of a fold of her dress and putting them on. "William, sometimes the biggest places are not always the best. Perhaps you should look for developing towns? Places that aren't quite on par with other civilizations in terms of expansion...?"

The boy was quite still for a moment, contemplating her words, before he smiled at her brightly with his blue eyes twinkling with ideas. "You are absolutely brilliant, Sabrina," he said with brotherly affection. "No wonder you're Uncle Regis's accountant; your mind is sharper than a diamond's edge."

Her delicate features flushed a deep scarlet at his praise, and she fiddled with her dress bashfully. "Y-you are too kind, dear William..." she stammered embarassedly, and looked away from his eyes. With a intense expression on his face, he turned his gaze to the paper in front of him and sighed, as he couldn't make out much of it.

"Could you ask one of the servants to fetch me a light, dear cousin?" William asked her politely, and she nodded with a smile and exited swiftly. The boy ran a hand through his blond locks with a shake of his head as he chuckled ruefully.

"This..." he sighed, "will be a long night..."

* * *

In the Animal Shop, Mirabelle and Julia were closing up, with the intent of going to bed, when Julia turned to her mother with a pondering expression on her face.

"Ma," she began, "don't you think Vaughn was acting rather strange when we came back last Friday?"

"...Yes. He was," Mirabelle replied with a sigh, already anticiapating her daughter's next question. "But, Julia-"

"Is it because of Chelsea, you think?" The girl asked, interrupting her mother. "I mean, I know they don't like each other, or at least Chelsea doesn't like him, but I'm just curious as to why he was so sullen-"

"Julia, I know you're worried about him, but you shouldn't meddle in his problems," Mirabelle said firmly. "Especially his emotional problems. We'll just have to wait it out."

The blue-eyed girl frowned with a shake of her head, her face crumpled with worry as she twirled a stray piece of her hair.

"Chelsea seemed out of sorts today, don't you think...?" Julia asked persistently, and at this Mirabelle frowned. "She came to visit Shea, but she seemed rather...distant..."

"You're right about that," she replied catiously, "but I think she was upset about more than one thing...something that happened a while ago, perhaps."

The mother and daughter stood silently, their blue eyes rather contemplative as they let their thoughts wash over them, when a raspy voice from behind them spoke.

"You...say...Chelsea...feel sad?" Shea said, his golden eyes soft and questioning as he tried to make himself understood with his poor English. "Why...?"

The native was dressed in a white make-shift loincloth, donated by a gruff cowboy, and his white native markings were paling. His left shoulder was wrapped in white bandages, and his coyote-fur headband was ever-present.

The woman looked at each other uneasily, and then back to the native as he held his wrapped left shoulder, before Julia finally spoke hesitantly.

"Shea, um...Chelsea is good, really," she assured him in a simple way, so that he would understand her. "She just doesn't feel very well, that's all."

"Shea...is not stupid. Chelsea...she...not happy..." he struggled to his point across. "Is...her mate...?" He finally articulated awkwardly.

They stared blankly at him, baffled, and he looked back at them with embarrassment evident on his cheeks. He was obviously frustrated by his bad speaking skills.

"Mate? Chelsea doesn't have a..." Julia's eyes lit up as she realized who the native was referring to. "Oh oh, Vaughn? Is that who you're talking about? Um, well...he isn't Chelsea's mate, you know..." it took all of Julia's strength not to laugh at the irony of what Shea was implying.

"Uh? Vee-aughn is not...Chelsea's mate?" Shea asked, and Mirabelle couldn't help but chuckle at his confused expression. "They...seem...like mates. But...Chelsea mate no...make her feel...bad...that good," Shea smiled to himself a little, and Mirabelle and Julia exchanged slightly confused looks. "But...what make Chelsea...feel bad...?"

Unfortunately, none of them had the answer to that.

* * *

Denny was fidgetting.

The diner was busy tonight, and he was with the attention-demanding Lanna per usual. He'd never thought bein friendly to the fisher-girl would later come back to smack him in the face, since she determined he would become her constant dinner date as a result. As she rambled on about how some dress she had bought hadn't fit her, the fisherman found himself sweeping the diner with his eyes instead of listening to her chatter. Finally, Lanna smack the table with the palm of her hand, her expression dangerusly furious.

"You aren't listening, Denny Catcher!" She seethed, and he whipped his head around to look into her flaming brown eyes. "Why are you so spacey tonight?"

"Sorry, Lanna...he stammered apologetically, and she harrumphed with a toss of her hair before continuing.

"So, do you want to hear about what Natalie told me the other day?" Lanna asked with a smile, and Denny shrugged uneasily.

"If Nat told you and not me, I don't think I have any business knowing it..." he replied tentatively. "So no thanks..."

He found himself looking backwards again, at the bar counter, where...

_...Chelsea usually sits._.. he thought._ I...I'm looking for her, aren't I...?_

Unwittingly he spaced out again, pondering this realization, until he was snapped back to attention by Lanna's nearly tangible glare drilling into his skull.

"You know what. I don't feel very hungry anymore," she said sharply, and he blinked. "See you later." She stood up, and without pushing her chair in, turned to leave. Denny instantly followed her until she got outside; and she whipped around to snap at him. "Leave me alone!"

"Wh-what? Lanna, what did I do?" Denny stammered, lost and confused. Lanna glowered at him with those blazing brown infernos, and her next words were like frost in the summer night air.

"It's not what you _did, _Denny. It's what you _didn't_ do." And with that she stormed away in a huff, leaving a rather perplexed fisherman behind. Poppers peeped meekly as he pulled at one of Denny's brown curls, and the man sighed as he found his gaze drifting over to the ranch unconsciously.

"What's wrong with me tonight?" He muttered, running a hand through his curly locks.

* * *

"Elliot, I'm going to kill you."

The pink-haired boy in question was sleeping on the flowery sofa with his brown boots still on, snoring pleasantly, and Natalie stood behind him holding a crate, her face botched with anger and her eyes narrowed into slits. "Goddess...you're supposed to be helping us ship crates, not snoozing your pathetic existence away!"

There was no response, aside from a content snore.

Natalie sighed in annoyance and put the crate down, and then went around the sofa to sit in front of him. She took off his slipping glasses and placed them on the stool next to the sofa's left arm, and causually brushed a piece of hair off of his forehead.

"You're an idiot, you know." She said bluntly, and he stirred a little at this. "The king of stupidity...it's so pathetic, really..."

There was a pause before she continued, her voice a tad softer this time.

"But...you may be useless, but I...you're an okay big brother. There. You always are weak and whiny...but you encourage others. And even me." Her face began to turn red. "Goddess, why am I saying this daggone bull crap for?"

Elliot muttered something in his sleep before turning his back to her with a grunt. Natalie smiled a little and reached out to tousle his hair a little.

"Sleep to your heart's content, Elliot..." she said quietly, and he mumbled something else unintelligible as he smiled a little in his sleep. She stood to her feet, her eyes unreadable, as he nestled into the soft couch with a sigh.

There was a resounding crack as Natalie rammed her overall-clad knee into his back with a unwomanly brutality. "But not on my watch!" She finished with a fierce growl as his eyes snapped open with a cry of agony. He fell flat on his face as she turned away from him, picking up the crate, and as he groaned she tossed a remark over her shoulder.

"Get to work, Ellis, you good-for-nothing pile of patties," she snipped, and the front door clanged shut. Elliot moaned as he rubbed his back, but smiled in the direction Natalie had gone.

"You're a okay little sister too...Natalie."

* * *

Chelsea was inside her house, the sprites gone for the day, sitting on the bed with a complex expression on her face. Her blue eyes seemed like voids as she stared at the ceiling with no purpose.

"Mother..." she muttered under her breath spitefully, "I wonder what you think of me now?"

The door to her house clicked open, and she was startled out of her thoughts as Taro stepped inside. "Howdy. Just droppin' by to check on you, is all."

"Hey, Mr. Taro," she replied with a smile that resembled a cruelly stretched grimace. "How are you weathering so far this piping hot summer?"

"Eh, good, since you're shipping so much...but these creaky bones feel a storm cooking," he muttered. " It won't be pretty, for sure..." he pursued his lips. "How are you, Chelsea?"

The question seemed to cut deep, and the rancher shook her head after a moment's deliberation. "I...I'm getting along. I need more cattle, though. Lots of space for a bull and heifers."

Taro raised a bushy brow at her, studying the creases around her eyes with concern, but let it slid. "Well, you should be ready for a nasty dust rage or something of the like. These bones don't lie." And with a fierce grin the old man turned to leave, his staff clunking against the old boards of her house before the front door shut with a bang.

The rancher blinked sleepily, her bleary eyes slipping shut as she lay down on her bed, curling up into a ball. Her soft breathing became quiet snores as she drifted off into a pleasantly dreamless sleep.

Howling winds was the sound she woke up to, and she rubbed her eyes to clear the fuzzy edges away from her vision. "Ugh. Mr. Taro was right..." she groaned as she stood to her feet. "Gotta go check on Salt and Pepper...and Yellow and Red..."

She opened the door only to almost be blasted back into the house by the strong gales. With grunts of efforts she trudged forward against the wind, her eyes accosted with flying dust, until she stumbled into the barn with a gasp. "Golly...!" She breathed as Salt cast her a curious glance. "Well, don't just stare." She said dryly. "Line up."

* * *

After struggling through her animal care, she went on her daily visit through the town, with Taro nearly busting a vein at her thoughtlessness for her well-being and Chen and Charlie trying to sell her curry powder ( to which she obliged). Finally she stopped at the Animal Barn to check on Shea, and as she quickly closed the door Mirabelle called to her with a surprised tone in her voice.

"Chelsea? You're here today?" She asked, her voice a bit strained, and Chelsea turned to see her sitting down in a wooden chair.

"Ah, hello Mirabelle!" She greeted her pleasantly, unaware of the woman's discomfort, and went to the back hallway behind the store and headed to the last door. As she opened the door to Shea's room she heard Julia's voice, and with a roll of her edoor she entered into the room. _Probably chatting poor Shea to death..._

She opened the door with a rueful shake of her head. "Julia, are you bugging-"

Her voice died as she saw Julia sitting next to a horribly familiar silllouhette, and she swallowed as those unmistakable purple eyes turned in her direction. Julia looked up at her with alarm as Shea snoozed peacefully, blissfully unaware of the sudden tension in the room. The rancher swallowed again, and spoke in more of a rasp than a normal tone.

"Howdy, Julia," she greeted, her throat dry, and meandered up to Shea's bed. "How is he?"

"Oh, uh, he's great." Julia picked up on Chelsea's sudden and obvious discomfort, and weakly tried to engage in the conversation. "You, um, actually came in this dust storm? That's impressive...and kind of dumb." She tried to chuckle.

"I guess so..." Chelsea shrugged awkwardly, and noted that the silent cowboy's gaze still hadn't shifted from her face. "Well, if he's asleep, I guess I'll...mosey on out." She trailed off.

With a sharp turn she headed for the door, and a voice that wasn't Julia's stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Rancher." Vaughn said quietly, purposefully, and Chelsea noted how his voice was void of any arrogance for once. She turned to see his expression hidden by the shadow of his hat and with a metal shake of her head she turned away. She didn't want to talk about it. The idea of facing him after deliberately avoiding any contact was just utterly _humiliating-_

She walked out of the room, hoping that by ignoring him, it would deter him from pursuing her. With a steely resolve to get the heck out of there she rounded the corner, the door to freedom in sight, and sprinted out the exit. She sighed as she clenched her fists, relieved and frustrated at herself. That bandanna was precious to her and she wanted it back now!

But a tiny part of herself felt as if Vaughn wouldn't just give it to her. That he would want to know why she bolted, and she didn't want to admit _why_-

The door to the Animal Shop opened, and the cowboy met her gaze with those steely dark purple flint stones of his. With a deadly purposefulness he backed against the wall in seconds, and she glared at him with burning flames in her blue eyes.

"Let me go," she said fiercely, and he ignored her.

"I didn't think running away when you're being spoken to is a part of common-courtesy in these parts," he quipped humorlessly, and her eyes narrowed.

"I wouldn't guess someone like you knew what courtesy _is_," she snapped at him, and he narrowed his eyes at the insult. "Now let me _go_-" she squirmed desperately.

"Why were you spying on me?" He interrupted her, and she shook her head furiously.

"I wasn't spying...!" She said quite defensively.

"Why did you run then?"

"I didn't feel like talking to you then!"

"_Why_?"

Their faces had been gravitating closer as they went back and forth, the tips of their noses almost brushing, and Chelsea's mind was whirring a mile a minute.

_Because you aren't total cold and demonic as I assumed. Because I hate being wrong. Because you can actually care, and I don't want to **daggone admit it**-_

Chelsea turned away from his gaze, and the cowboy leaned back away from her without a word. A cloth settled over her head, and Chelsea instantly knew what it was as she felt it with her fingers. Then without looking back the cowboy went back inside with a slam of the door, and for some reason she felt that something between them had shifted tremendously.

And to be quite frank, she didn't know whether it was for the better or worse.

* * *

William stood before his uncle with tired circles underneath his eyes, his blond hair slightly unruly, and smiled half-heatedly as his uncle's face lit up with interest. "I've come to the conclusion that perhaps an under-developed town would be best for our new branch of business," he said, bowing at the waist. "I hope it satisfies your requirements."

Regis grinned, obviously pleased, and nodded as he skimmed over the names of various towns listed. "That's my nephew," he chuckled. "This is a brilliant idea, William."

He stopped over one name suddenly in his reading, and his eyebrows rose as he hummed thoughtfully. William blinked, intrigued by what had piqued his uncle's interest.

"Sunshine Town, hm?"

* * *

_AN: Wow. Um, I don't know what to make of it. Was it good? Bad? TELL ME. _

_Anyways, I gotta work on He's the BOSS? now (my yugioh AU)...I just wanted the Run This Town readers to know that you're amazing, and that you're in for a long ride, believe me! And I hope you'll stick around for it._

_Sayonara, __HarvestDragon_


	10. Tide Shift

Chapter Ten

Tide Shift

* * *

_AN: Hello...sorry for the incredibly long wait...I've been tinkering with correcting this story quite a bit, so you might want to reread if you haven't already. Thanks to all of you that have taken the time to review, and I hope my writing only improves from now onwards!_

* * *

Coral was officially weirded out.

Chelsea had been acting quite strangely as of late, her eyes carrying a certain tiredness that had certainly not been there before. She seemed to be in another world, her lips sometimes moving soundlessly in her sleep, and her tomboyish behavior seemed to only crop its snarky head a little bit each day.

In short, he and he other sprites were quite worried, and some of them were more vocal about it than others.

"Why're ya so down in the cattle dumps?" Pride demanded, his dark eyes narrowed as he carried his tiny hammer over his shoulder.

"What are you going on about now?" Chelsea asked with a huff as she struggled to pull out a tremendous-looking and quite monsterous weed. "I'm fine...!" She grunted deeply.

"Ever since you got your bandanna back last week, you've been acting so spacy..." he muttered, and the weed popped out of the dirt at that moment, sending the rancher into the ground butt-first with a loud and obxious 'oomph'.

"...It's nothing important," she muttered under her breath, and grimaced as she rubbed her cheeks. "A little thought never hurt anyone." She said firmly.

"Well, except you," Pride commented not-so-quietly, and was immediately bowled head-over-heels by the toe of her boot. "Gah!"

"Ah, don't mind Pride, Chosen," Sober commented as he wrote down a large numerical figure in his notebook. "I promise he means well...most of the time." He added a bit darkly, nearly incoherent to the untrained ear.

Chelsea grunted in acknowledgement and moved onto another sun-tough and equally stubborn weed. "I see." She deadpanned.

The sprites had the dismal feeling that she didn't 'see' at all.

* * *

"Is this good...?" The rancher wheezed at Elliot with a heavy-laden voice as she strained under the weight of the shipping crates she was carrying for him. He seemed to look incredibly uncomfortable letting her do the work for him, and he fidgetted for an answer as she trembled under the mass of wood and goods.

It was around midday, and Chelsea had come down to visit around town only to see Elliot struggling with the many shipping crates he was expected to carry. So naturally, like the inquisitive and tomboyishly brash girl she was, she offered to help him and did so despite his semi-obvious protesting.

"I-I really can do it-" his voice quavered a little as he followed her towards the Animal Barn, where the large shipping bin lay in all its dusty glory.

"But I'm doing it for ya," she interrupted, and something about her aura (or perhaps her tone) made Elliot accept her help in quite unmanly and meek submission.

"I appreciate it-" he was cut off again as some crates were lifted out of Chelsea's hands easily.

"You can't carry all of these by yourself," Denny said quite chirply as he easily balanced the crates in his muscular arms. "A lady doesn't do such work." He grinned at her with an impish touch to his face as she glared at him rather insincerely.

"I run the daggone ranch, in case you've forgotten," she reminded him curtly, (although her mood was lifting already despite her honest attempts to be annoyed), and he laughed as Elliot melted into their shadows' trails in a puppishly melancholy manner.

"How could I forget?" The tanned fisherman asked, his tone suddenly strangely gentle, and the rancher glanced in bewilderment, her clear eyes widened, at the soft expression he tossed her way. _It was almost...affectionate_, she thought, and she was suddenly certain she had seen such a look before, long ago.

But it was gone before she could blink twice. "You're amazing...for a kid," he teased, and immediately the mood was broken. She furrowed her brow and blew through her nose irately, her eyes narrowed in a glare once more.

"And you're a sorry pile of gutted fish," she snapped, the innocent taunt reminding her of Vaughn. Denny recoiled hastily with a confused look on his face, sensing her sudden mood swing, and Poppers squawked out quite loudly -and conviently- at this point.

"Gutted fish, _gutted fish_, **_gutted fish_**!" The cockatoo screeched, and the rancher's anger passed into a stifled wide grin at the bird's naturally silly behavior. Denny sensed that her anger had passed, and relaxed his face into a large smile as he silently thanked his bird for the 'unintentional' save.

Elliot, meanwhile, had long since turned back quite defeatedly to his home, and was unfortunately feeling more and more like Natalie's sissy 'Ellis' instead of 'Elliot.'

* * *

The sound of the haunting howl of a hunting coyote awoke Shea from his light slumber, and he immediately sprung up into a hunting postition, crouched in the white sheets of his bed. As he realized his was safe his shoulders sagged, and he plopped down into the soft blankets.

"Coyote mio huuka," he grumbled, disgruntled about the seemingly exciting false alarm, and looked at his nearly-healed wound with impatience before sighing in a lonely sort of way. "Wada...Chelsea..."

"Shea!"

The native jerked out of his melancholy thoughts to make a face at the loud woman that called herself 'Ju-la' as she came into the room, although he was admittedly comforted by the presence of another breathing and living human being.

He still yearned for Chelsea to come visit soon.

"How are you feeling?" Ju-la asked pleasantly, her big and soft blue eyes bright with concern. "You've seemed a little down in the dumps lately..." she added lowly.

"Dumps...? Down?" Shea repeated, evidently confused, and Ju-la smiled half-heartedly.

"Sad. You look sad," she said simply, her tone reflecting her worry for him. Shea seemed to bite his lip for a moment, sucking on it thoughtfully, before he replied softly and throatly, his voice hesitant.

"Lone-lee."

Julia blinked, and them her smile dropped away completely as the native looked away from her bashfully. She had thought she had kept him company enough, but now that she thought about it, he was alone for several hours each day while she and her mom worked. And he wasn't like them either; he was used to a whole forest to run around in as he pleased, all day long. But now that he was confined to a small room surrounded by people he barely knew, it was no wonder that the native felt that way.

"I...I didn't realise..." she trailed off, and after a long, thick and silent hesitation, pulled him into a firm hug.

Shea tensed up at first, not used to such intimacy, before finally relaxing slightly into the soft and warm arms of the woman. He let out a soft and slow sigh that was, undoubtly, the most lonesome sound Julia had ever heard, and her embrace only grew tighter with the sheer strength of her pity.

The sound of soft breathing and chastely beating hearts in the nearly silent room sang a song of one of the simplest messages humankind had to offer.

_Companionship._

It may have been a long time, or a short time, neither of them knew. But for whatever amount of time it was, the world for them consisted of just one other throbbing heart and humming soul.

"Shea...?"

The blond girl let go of Shea hastily, embarassed that her womanly instincts had taken over so quickly and thoughtlessly, and the native's face seemed to brighten just a tad at the sight of the boyish brunette in dusty red cowboy boots in his doorway.

"Oh, hey Julia." Chelsea greeted her with a half-hearted grin, and then scowled at a seemingly invisible something on her shoulder quite brutishly, before turning to Shea with a roguish, yet gentle, smile. "Shea. You're feeling better I guess?"

The native was silent, as he pieced the words together in his head slowly, before responding. "Yes," he said, the rich thickness of his voice like hot honey on toast, "I feel...better..."

His golden eyes fixated on Julia, who was standing quietly by his bedside, as he said this, his mouth curving into a slight smile. "Ju-la...is good..." he articulated, and Chelsea turned her eyes towards the blond curiously at this seemingly out-of-the blue comment.

Startled by the sudden compliment, the girl's cheeks turned a rose petal pink as she avoided his gaze. "I didn't do anything special," she insisted, yet a small and bright smile crept its way up her cheeks at the pleasant feedback.

Chelsea watched this with interest and also a strange sort of queer familiarity, as if this had happened before, and shook the somewhat unpleasant feeling off with a shrug and another smile.

It couldn't be all that important, after all, if she couldn't remember it.

* * *

William was dreaming.

After filling his head to the brim with numbers and every piece of informative data on dusty old Sunshine Town, his mind had finally had enough of such nonsensical abuse. He had drifted off to sleep on his desk, his silky blond hair hanging over his lidded eyes, and his chest rose and fell with soft and soothingly peaceful breath. His fingers twitched a little, as if he was trying to reach out to something in his dream, and his lips would occasionally move with the quiet and disjointed murmurings of a sleeping soul.

"Who..."

The door of his room opened then, with the most catious and careful of creaks, and Sabrina poked her raven-haired head in tentatively. "William, Father would like to discuss-" she cut off as she spotted him dozing peacefully, and she smiled softly. "You always did work too hard, dear cousin," she murmured with a sweet expression on her face, and entered in the room quietly.

With a twitch of his hands, William's lips moved soundlessly again, as if he was calling for someone, and his brow furrowed deeply. "You...you can't..." he murmured, and Sabrina started at his voice. As she fidgetted with her glasses nervously, she listented to the other seemingly nonsensical mutterings he uttered.

"Your name, miss..."

Sabrina's eyes lowered in realisation, her smile shrinking to half the size it had been before. "So many years have passed," she murmured, "and he still dreams of that girl..."

The beautiful gal smiled sympathically, and reached out a hand to pet him on the head gently with a pale and frail-looking hand. "Sleep well, Will." She lapsed into childish informality, her hand running through his silky blond locks, and the boy twitched under her soft hand.

"She...never told me..."

As Sabrina took her hand away with her melancholy expression slipping back onto her face, she blew out a breath of soft and cool air. "Or not..." she sighed, and pointedly tugged on his ear three times before Will instantly jolted awake.

"Mm? Sabrina?" The dashing lad asked, his polite speech slightly slurred, and she blinked in a way that was distinctly owlish. "Do you need something, dear cousin?"

"Father wants you. We'll be relocating in a few days," she murmured, acting as a humbled sheep once more, and Will stretched with a soft groan.

"Very well," he said, combing down his sleep-tousled hair with his slender fingers, "in the mean time, I'd like for you to call a chef to prepare our lunch..."

"Which one?" Sabrina asked, although she knew quite well who her cousin had in mind. Will smiled, and raised his brows in anticipation.

"Pierre."

* * *

The soft and steady clop of Frost's hooves on the dry and sun-baked dirt kept Vaughn alert, his purple eyes scanning his surroundings. He was approaching a town that looked much better than Sunshine Town, with upgraded buildings and plenty of people, and his horse snorted as he picked up the pace with a gentle tap of his spurs.

"Almost there, boy." He murmured, and he tipped his hat over his eyes as they entered the outskirts of the lively and lovely town. "You have sugar cubes in your future begging to be eaten."

"Welcome to Mineral Town!" A chirper-looking pink-haired beauty called, her strange pink eyes bright with excitement. She was dressed in a fitted pink sun gown, with her curly hair loose and flowing like the lazy rolling of a sweet river. Her cheeks were a dainty pink, her long lashes and full lips the completion of her natural beauty. "Where minerals gleam and glo-"

"Cut the pleasantries, Popuri," Vaughn interrupted the girl, and she put her hands on her curvy waist in a huffy sort of way, glaring at the cowboy sourly.

"It's no wonder you don't have a gal on your arm," she said, curling her lip at his blunt and cold manner, and shifted her brown boots into a typical feminine disapproving stance. "Your face says lady-catcher, but your manners are lady-killers for sure!"

"Hmph." Was the cowboy's only reply, and he trotted past her without another glance. With a hopeless shake of her pretty head, the pink beauty strutted off, as pridefully and sparkly as a magnificent peacock.

Vaughn eased Frost into parking himself by what looked like a dark colored tavern, and after he skillfully dismounted, he moseyed on into the Mineral Bar.

The room was dark, with the smelly of sweaty workers and strong drink piercing the air with a putrid and yet homely scent, and the cowboy roughly shoved aside burly men with his shoulders as he approached the bar's wood counter. Behind the the counter was a worker who, at moments glance, could pass for a feminine man.

On closer inspection, it was clear that the worker was a woman, with slight curves nearly non-existent under the loose and boyish green collared shirt she wore. Her pants were light blue and tucked into black boots that were worn with timely practicality. Her blond-streaked brown hair was gathered into a messy bun with loose strands hanging out, and her expression was that of a ruffian's as she turned to reveal rather pretty features hardened by rough experience.

"You." She stated simply, and she poured a glass of liquor for herself as Vaughn sat in front of her in silence. "Been a while since the wind blew you in here."

"Karen." He tipped his hat to the rough gal, his purple eyes glinting with respect. "Heard that some mysterious man's sticking his snout where it don't belong."

The girl blew out a huff of slow air, and she grimaced deeply. "He's been in here. Keeps asking for a man who goes by the name," she paused as she dropped her voice, "White Devil."

Vaughn's face suddenly was alive with emotion, his purple eyes wide with such an array of emotions that it was impossible to distinguish one from another, and he stood to his feet abruptly. "White Devil," he repeated, and Karen grinned ruefully as she guzzled her drink in a way seemingly impossible for a woman.

"The outlaw," she said with a smile. "Handsomer than the devil, and seven times deadlier, they always said." Karen picked up her drained glass, and twirled it on her finger like a pro as she hiccuped once.

Vaughn didn't say a word for a while, and he finally snorted after Karen downed another glass of liquor.

"Some idiot can't stay out of the past, can they?"

* * *

_Hello! I'm truly sorry for the wait. I know this chapter doesn't make up for it, but I hope it gets you thinking, at least._

_Who's your favorite character so far? Why do you like them? Tell me in a review!_

_Thanks again to Tempest, my beta. And I have a poll up for my writer rank, so voting would be nice! ;)_

_I promise you that other characters will be taking the spotlight, and that you should look forward to the next chapter! Whenever it comes along...XD_

_Sayonara, Harvest Dragon _


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